Least Developed Countries

William Ehlers, GEF Secretariat, Abdul Bakarr Salim, Council Co-Chair, and Naoko Ishii, GEF CEO and Chairperson On the third and final day of the 55th meeting of the GEF Council, the Council concluded its consideration of a number of decisions, discussed measures to enhance the sustainability of GEF projects and programs, convened as the Council of the Least Developed Countries Fund/Special Climate Change Fund (LDCF/SCCF), and approved the Joint Summary of the Chairs for the Council meetings. On the sustainability of GEF programs and projects, the Secretariat presented an information note indicating that it could not yet recommend concrete measures and that further work with Agencies and the Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) is required. Members called for action soon, with one Member suggesting that the Secretariat propose measures to the 56th meeting of the Council, and the IEO offer recommendations to the 57th meeting, and another Member suggesting that the Secretariat propose a work plan to the 56th meeting. CEO Ishii said the Secretariat would reflect on the issue and come back to the Council.GEF Council Members also convened as the 25th meeting of the Council of the LDCF/SCCF, and adopted a Work Program comprising six project concepts, with resources amounting to US$45.85 million for the LDCF, including project grants and Agency fees. At the conclusion of the LDCF/SCCF Council, Members announced the following pledges and contributions to the LDCF/SCCF on behalf of their governments: Walloon Region of Belgium: EUR2.9 million to the LDCF; Denmark: DKK150 million to the LDCF; Finland: EUR2 million to the LDCF; France: EUR20 million to the LDCF; the Netherlands: US$9.1 million to the LDCF in 2018; Sweden: SEK135 million to the LDCF in 2018; and Switzerland: US$9.9 million to the LDCF and US$3.3 million to the SCCF, pending parliamentary approval. Germany reported that it will finalize its contribution of EUR25 million before the end of the year.Following approval of the Joint Summary of the Chairs for both the GEF Council and the LDCF/SCCF Council, GEF CEO and Chairperson Naoko Ishii closed the meeting at 1:54 pm.  IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage from the 55th Meeting of the GEF Council. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has published a summary report of the meeting in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Leila Mead For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page GEF CEO and Chairperson Naoko Ishii Aparna Subramani, India, and Stefan Schwager, Switzerland Marita Olson, Sweden Ruel Edwards, Grenada Josceline Wheatley, UK Abdulqader Alkharraz, Yemen Peter Elder, Australia Francoise Clottes, GEF Secretariat Laura Bermúdez, Colombia Seyad Mousavi, Iran, and Kordula Mehlhart, Germany William Ehlers, GEF Secretariat, Abdul Bakarr Salim, Council Co-Chair, and Naoko Iishi, GEF CEO and Chairperson Lauren Gisnas, Norway Delegates from India and Switzerland 25th LDCF/SCCF Council Meeting Moise Jean-Pierre, Haiti, and GEF Operational Focal Point for Haiti (center), showcases an LDCF project in Haiti. A view of the screen during the presentation of the LDCF progress report Pledging Session for the LDCF and the SCCF Tobias Von Platen-Hallermund, Denmark Jozef Buys, Belgium Carola Van Rijnsoever, the Netherlands Stephanie Bouziges-Eschmann, France Stefan Schwager, Switzerland Co-Chair Adbul Bakarr Salim and GEF CEO and Chairperson Naoko Ishii at the conclusion of the Council meeting Around the Venue Delegates and members of the GEF Secretariat consulting  

As the 'Katowice Climate Package' is adopted, Michał Kurtyka, COP 24 President, takes a giant leap for climate action The Katowice Climate Change conference continued on Saturday, a day after its scheduled close. Delegates engaged in consultations throughout the day to finalize the decisions for the Paris Agreement Work Programme (PAWP).The plenary convened at 9:30 pm to consider the decisions. CMA 1-3 was gavelled to a close on Sunday morning at 12:33 am. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, provided daily reports, daily web coverage, and a summary and analysis from the Katowice Climate Change Conference – December 2018.   Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Closing Plenary UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa arrives in plenary Michał Kurtyka, COP 24 President, arrives in plenary Delegates stand at the beginning of plenary and hold a minute of silence in honour of Bernarditas Muller, Philippines Michał Kurtyka, COP 24 President UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa As the 'Katowice Climate Package' is adopted, Michał Kurtyka, COP 24 President, invites heads of delegation to the podium Michał Kurtyka, COP 24 President, thanks delegates for their help in achieving the 'Katowice Climate Package' Miguel Arias Cañete, Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, European Commission Franz Perrez, Switzerland, speaking on behalf of the Environmental Integrity Group (EIG) Amjad Abdulla, Maldives, speaking on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Patrick Suckling, Australia, speaking on behalf of the Umbrella Group Wael Aboulmagd, Egypt, speaking on behalf of the G-77/China Mohamed Nasr, Gabon, speaking on behalf of the African Group Ravi Prasad, India, speaking on behalf of Brazil, South Africa, India, and China (BASIC) Albara Tawfiq, Saudi Arabia, speaking on behalf of the Arab Group Gebru Jember Endalew, Ethiopia, speaking on behalf of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) Gurdial Singh, Malaysia, speaking on behalf of the Like-minded Developing Countries (LMDCs) Zakir Hossain, Farmers Shaila Shahid, Women and Gender Joint statement on behalf of Youth NGOs (YOUNGOs) Delegates Consult Informally Delegates from the EU, US, Australia, and Switzerland Delegates from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the COP 24 Presidency Delegates from Switzerland and Norway Jo Tyndall, New Zealand, speaks with Tomasz Chruszczow, Poland Ministers from Luxembourg and Spain speak with delegates from the EU and Norway Delegates huddle during the final stages of negotiations UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa Martin Frick, UNFCCC Secretariat Kimmo Tiilikainen, Minister for Housing, Energy, and the Environment, Finland Pieter Terpstra, the Netherlands, and Philip Weech, Bahamas Katarzyna Snyder, COP 24 Presidency Mehmet Emin Birpınar, Turkey Family Photos UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa poses for a photo with the delegation from Mexico The COP 24 Presidency Family photo of the UNFCCC Secretariat Family photo of negotiators working on ex-ante finance transparency (Article 9.5) Family photo of negotiators working on the transparency framework Family photo of negotiators for the transparency framework from the G-77/China Tribute to Bernarditas Muller After learning of her passing, delegates pay tribute to Bernarditas Muller, Philippines, who was recognised for her commitment and dedication to the UNFCCC, a 'legend within the process' Around the Venue SBSTA Chair Paul Watkinson, France Seyni Nafo, Mali, and Zaheer Fakir, South Africa Delegates read the latest draft of text Jo Tyndall, New Zealand Issa Bado, International Organisation of the Francophonie (OIF) Matt McGrath, BBC Ovais Sarmad, UNFCCC Deputy Executive Secretary Staff around the venue