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C O V E RDecision on Green Climate FundadoptedA major issue at Durban was the Green Climate Fund – the fund established at lastyear’s Cancun Conference to raise and disburse the targeted sum of $100 billion a yearby 2020 to protect poor nations against climate impacts and assist them with lowcarbondevelopment. Meena Raman reports on the debate and decisions on the Fund.ther development of the fund that hadbeen established at the Cancun conferencea year ago.The COP decision agreed to approvethe governing instrument forthe GCF as transmitted to it (althoughONE significant outcome of the Durbanclimate talks was the adoption on11 December of a decision by theUNFCCC Conference of the Parties(COP) on the Green Climate Fund(GCF), thus clearing the way for furwithoutconsensus) by the TransitionalCommittee (TC) to design theFund, without any changes to the instrument.However, the accompanyingdecision that agreed to the instrumentcontained several importantThe Green Climate Fund decisionTHE decision adopted by the COP atDurban as regards the GCF is as follows:‘The Conference of Parties1. Welcomes the report of theTransitional Committee (FCCC/CP/2011/6 and Add.1), taking note withappreciation of the work of the TransitionalCommittee in responding to itsmandate given in decision 1/CP.16,paragraph 109;2. Approves the governing instrumentfor the Green Climate Fund annexedto this decision;3. Decides to designate theGreen Climate Fund as an operatingentity of the Financial Mechanism ofthe Convention, in accordance with Article11 of the Convention, with arrangementsto be concluded betweenthe Conference of the Parties and theFund at the eighteenth session of theConference of the Parties to ensurethat it is accountable to and functionsunder the guidance of the Conferenceof the Parties to support projects, programmes,policies and other activitiesin developing country Parties;4. Notes that the Green ClimateFund will be guided by the principlesand provisions of the Convention;5. Decides to provide guidance tothe Board of the Green Climate Fund,including on matters related to policies,programme priorities and eligibilitycriteria and matters relatedthereto, taking into account theBoard’s annual reports to the Conferenceof the Parties on its activities;6. Requests the Board tooperationalise the Fund in an expeditedmanner;7. Also requests the Board to developa transparent no-objection procedureto be conducted through nationaldesignated authorities referred to inparagraph 46 of the governing instrument,in order to ensure consistencywith national climate strategies andplans and a country driven approach andto provide for effective direct and indirectpublic and private sector financingby the Green Climate Fund. Further requeststhe Board to determine this procedureprior to approval of funding proposalsby the Fund;8. Further requests the Board tobalance the allocation of the Green ClimateFund resources between adaptationand mitigation activities;9. Stresses the need to securefunding for the Green Climate Fund, takinginto account paragraphs 29 and 30of the governing instrument, to facilitateits expeditious operationalisation, andrequests the Board to establish necessarypolicies and procedures, which willenable an early and adequate replenishmentprocess;[Paragraphs 29 and 30 of the governinginstrument relate to ‘financial inputs’and provide as follows:‘29. The Fund will receive financialinputs from developed country Partiesto the Convention.30. The Fund may also receive financialinputs from a variety of othersources, public and private, includingalternative sources.’]10. Invites Parties, through theirregional groupings and constituencies,to submit their nominations for the membersof the Board to the interim secretariatby 31 March 2012, in accordancewith paragraph 11 of the governing instrument;[Paragraph 11 reads: ‘The membersof the Board and their alternateswill be selected by their respective constituencyor regional group within a constituency.Members of the Board willhave the necessary experience andskills, notably in the areas of climatechange and development finance, withdue consideration given to gender balance.’]11. Decides that the Green ClimateFund be conferred juridical personalityand legal capacity and shall enjoy suchprivileges and immunities related to thedischarge and fulfilment of its functions,in accordance with paragraphs 7 and 8of the governing instrument;[Paragraphs 7 and 8 on the ‘Legalstatus’ of the Fund read as follows:‘7. In order to operate effectivelyinternationally, the Fund will possess juridicalpersonality and will have suchlegal capacity as is necessary for theexercise of its functions and the protectionof its interests.8. The Fund will enjoy such privilegesand immunities as are necessaryfor the fulfilment of its purposes. Theofficials of the Fund will similarly enjoysuch privileges and immunities as arenecessary for the independent exerciseof their official functions in connectionwith the Fund.’This was one of the most controversialissues in the Durban negotiations.The issue was how the GCF is tohave juridical personality and legal capacityand whether such legal statuswas sufficient to be conferred by a decisionof the COP or whether there was aTHIRD WORLD RESURGENCE No 255/25640