Green Climate Fund and IICA sign agreement that will increase funding for climate resilience projects in Latin America and the Caribbean

San Jose, 2 September 2021 (IICA). The Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) signed an agreement to support climate adaptation and resilience initiatives for agriculture and rural areas in the countries of the Americas.

With the accreditation granted by the GCF in early July, IICA can apply for resources to develop projects with a maximum value of USD 50 million per initiative.

“At the GCF, we are pleased to welcome IICA as a new direct access entity—currently the 18th in the region. To date, the fund has allocated USD 1.85 billion to 41 climate projects in Latin America and the Caribbean to adopt urgent mitigation and adaptation measures and strengthen resilience to climate change. Through this partnership with IICA, we expect to increase funding”, commented Javier Manzanares, GCF Deputy Executive Director.

“Supporting climate mitigation, adaptation and resilience projects is key for IICA, because the current context of climate change increases the vulnerability of food production systems and imposes major challenges to ensuring food security”, explained Manuel Otero, Director General of IICA.

“The relationship with the GCF”, he added, “represents a structural change in IICA’s ability to support and add value to the resilience agenda of its Member States”.

The agreement was signed virtually during the Conference of Ministers of Agriculture of the Americas 2021, organized by IICA.

At present, IICA is implementing two approved readiness projects funded by the GCF that will benefit 17 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

These initiatives are “Strengthening the Foundation for a Climate Responsive Agricultural Sector in the Caribbean” for The Bahamas, Belize, Dominica, Haiti, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago; and “Post COVID-19 Green Recovery for Food, Health, and Water Security Strengthened by Financial and Technological Innovations in Latin American Countries” for Ecuador, Brazil, Guatemala, Peru, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay and Bolivia.

Increasing the sustainability of food production systems would foster a greater balance between carbon emissions and sequestration and would generate positive externalities for ecosystem services, whose contributions have yet to be capitalized on and quantified.

The purpose of the GCF is to make a significant contribution to the efforts of the international community to combat climate change—the ultimate goal of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Within the context of sustainable development, the fund promotes a paradigm shift toward low emission, climate-resilient development, supporting developing countries in limiting or reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the effects of climate change, all while considering the needs of particularly vulnerable nations.

 As part of its mission to provide technical cooperation of excellence, IICA is now partnering with the global organization and committed to the agriculture sector of its member countries.

More information:

Institutional Communication Division

comunicacion.institucional@iica.int