The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is the operating entity of the Financial Mechanism of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It was created in 2010 during the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) in Cancun, Mexico, and it is the main mechanism for the mobilization of financial resources from developed countries to developing ones for climate change adaptation and mitigation activities.

Fundación Avina’s accreditation with the Green Climate Fund on December 14th, 2016 as a Micro Organization, allows it to mobilize up to US$10M per project and under “C” category for managing Environmental and Social Risks, being the first civil society organization in Latin America accredited as a regional direct access entity, allowing it to channel the Fund’s resources to countries throughout the region. 

As an Accredited Entity, Fundación Avina aims to expand its contribution to regional climate action towards inclusive, low-carbon and climate resilient development. 

The reaccreditation of Fundación Avina for a new 5-year period, approved on July 13, 2023 during the 36th Board of Directors Meeting of the fund in Incheon, Republic of Korea, expands the possibilities for climate action in the region. Fundación Avina was one of the 4 entities re-accredited to the fund during that session, and the only one as non-profit organization. The accreditation recognizes high fiduciary and climate impact standards of Fundación Avina and opens the door for the submission and managing of grant projects of up to $10 million, or even beyond that limit under the new Accreditation Framework approved in 2025. 

As an Accredited Entity, Fundación Avina will continue to expand its contribution to regional climate action towards inclusive, low-emission, climate-resilient development. Fundación Avina expects to mobilize projects that direct climate funds to the territories most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, generating conditions for local populations to be protagonists in mitigating and adapting to the climate crisis. 

By developing adaptation and mitigation projects in priority areas for the climate agendas of the countries in the region, Fundación Avina aims to: 

1. speed up and scale up regional climate action; 
2. promote and scale innovative responses to historical development challenges; 
3. work alongside countries to meet their climate change-related needs and priorities; 
4. contribute to the operationalization of the Fund in Latin America and its delivery to non-governmental actors and cities; and  
5. expedite collaboration in change processes.

The Green Climate Fund’s Strategic Impact Result areas establish two financial support pillars for activities related to climate Adaptation and Mitigation based on which Fundación Avina creates its climate agenda. They can be summarized as follows:

Funding proposals for the Green Climate Fund should always include a no-objection letter from the National Designated Authority of the country where each project will be implemented; all proposals should highlight coordination with the government entity approved by the Green Climate Fund to take on such responsibility.

A good proposal to be presented to the Green Climate Fund should demonstrate its contribution to achieving a paradigm shift towards climate resilient and low-carbon development. Under this perspective, each project should:

• Ensure a far-reaching vision can be achieved through changes generated in the short and medium-term, including systemic changes generated by means of strategic investments in policies and regulations that will change market and economic behaviors beyond a specific investment.
• Foster country ownership and a gender-sensitive approach in all its activities, ensuring alignment, consultation and commitment with all actors and sectors involved.
• Demonstrate project sustainability so that its impacts are maintained even after the end of the Green Climate Fund’s support.
• Demonstrate the cost-benefit relationship so that the seed capital provided by the Green Climate Fund drives additional long-term investments financed by other sources.

Fundación Avina supports the development of initiatives to be presented to the Green Climate Fund that are focused on actions related to the Readiness stage, as well as the development of Projects and Programs as summarized below:

All proposals presented to the Green Climate Fund are governed by the social investment management process established by Fundación Avina, which includes the scope and procedures applicable to these types of initiatives, as well as the various policies and procedures that regulate its management—including the online publishing of proposals approved by Fundación Avina.

Contact people at Fundación Avina for issues related to the Green Climate Fund are: Virginia Scardamaglia – virginia.scardamaglia@avina.net – and Paula Ellinger – Paula.Ellinger@avina.net

Proposals approved by Green Climate Fund: Since 2018 Fundación Avina has implemented different proposals financed by GCF, with impact in different countries of the region, as follows:

PERU

Readiness: National Adaptation Planning in Peru

Country: Peru

Approved budget: $1,445,082.00

Duration: 24 months

Approval date: 12 December 2019

See the proposal: Here

ARGENTINA

Readiness: Strengthening climate finance and NDC implementation by developing mitigation proposals through participatory federal Process

Country: Argentina

Approved budget: USD431.226

Duration: 18 months

Approval date: May 10, 2018

See the proposal: Here

PARAGUAY

Readiness: Enhancing the role of Local Development Councils to contribute to the implementation of the country´s NDC and access to climate finance

Country: Paraguay

Approved budget: USD592.813

Duration: 18 months

Approval date: April 13, 2018

See the proposal: Here

ECUADOR

Readiness: Enhance the capacity of Decentralized Autonomous Governments to access and manage climate finance in Ecuador and contribute to the implementation of the NDC

Country: Ecuador

Approved budget: USD559,516

Duration: 18 months

Approval date: November 1, 2018

See the proposal: Here

BRAZIL

Project Preparation Facility (PPF): Enhancing resilience of communities, smallholders and ecosystems to climate change impacts through adapting and scaling up land/resources used systems in the Marajo Archipelago in Brazil

Country: Brazil

Approved budget: USD515,493

Duration: 12 months

Approval date: september 23, 2021

See the proposal: Here

BRAZIL

Simplified Approval Process (SAP) 031: Marajó Resiliente: Enhancing the resilience of smallholders to climate change impacts through adapting and scaling up diversified agroforestry systems in the Marajo Archipelago of Brazil

Country: Brazil

Approved budget: USD 9,388,923

Co-finance: USD 500,000

Duration: 60 meses

Approval date: October 25, 2023

See the proposal: Here