28 March 2019, Skopje - Around 80 representatives of key Government institutions, ministries and development partners are gathering in Skopje today to officially start the readiness activities of North Macedonia for engagement with the Green Climate Fund (GCF). The national inception workshop is organized in frames of the country’s first GCF Readiness and Preparatory Support Project titled “Support for the management of an effective national coordinative mechanism regarding the Green Climate Fund”.
The project is implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) under the guidance of the Cabinet of the Deputy President of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia in charge of Economic Affairs, in its role as National Designated Authority to the GCF. The Readiness Programme aims to build the national capacities to access GCF funding to implement country-led national climate adaptation and mitigation measures.
The overall aim is for the country to be fully prepared to fulfil its commitments under the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit global temperature rise by 2 degrees, while adapting its major economic sectors, such as agriculture, energy, transport, health and tourism to the effects of climate change. As a result of the readiness support, the Government of North Macedonia will be able to create a Country Work Programme for the GCF that is in line with its adaptation and mitigation priorities.
Today’s workshop is the first step to discuss with all relevant institutional stakeholders the cooperation opportunities with the Green Climate Fund and the need for in-country coordination to ensure country priorities and other ongoing efforts at national level are considered when developing climate investment proposals for GCF funding.
Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Ms Olimpija Hristova Zaevska, Adviser for International development and cooperation to the Prime Minister stressed that the Green Climate Fund is one of the opportunities for supporting the country in tackling climate change and fulfilling its obligations arising from the Paris Climate Agreement, as well as climate-action obligations in frames of the European Union pre-accession process. She underlined that at the moment several processes are under way as part of the EU pre-accession process - preparation of the Energy Strategy, preparation of the Law on Energy Efficiency, Preparation of the National Plan for Climate and Energy, preparation of a Law and a long-term Climate Action Strategy, while the National Transport Strategy, which includes climate action requirements, has already been adopted.
At the workshop, relevant ministries and government agencies will learn about the GCF project cycle and the current state of GCF climate investments globally.
They will discuss the GCF funding modalities and opportunities for climate change adaptation and mitigation investments in North Macedonia. As a result of the workshop, representatives will agree on the project workplan and activities and will develop a preliminary list of priority areas of interest for future GCF projects, aligned with national priorities, and the GCF investment criteria. “The country’s economic growth is dependent on climate-sensitive natural resources which leads to high costs in regard to climate change mitigation and adaptation, said Ms Lidija Chadikovska, FAO National Correspondent.
“As GCF Accredited Entity with diverse GCF knowledge and experience worldwide, FAO is pleased to be working with the Cabinet of the Deputy President in charge of economic affairs and the broad range of national partners in North Macedonia to jointly implement this important project that will lay the groundwork for the country’s climate-resilient adaptation initiatives through future projects funded by the Green Climate Fund” she added. The Green Climate Fund was established by the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2010 as the global fund for financing climate change mitigation and adaptation in developing countries.