[Answered] Evaluate the role of international multilateral climate funds in supporting climate mitigation and adaptation activities in the Global South. What challenges are associated with the disbursement of these funds?

The Global South’s efforts at climate mitigation and adaptation are greatly aided by international multilateral climate financing. To address the effects of climate change and implement programs that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve resilience to climate-related risks, these funds aim to provide developing nations with financial resources. The Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and the Adaptation Fund are some of the most significant multinational climate funds.

Role of international multilateral climate funds in supporting climate mitigation and adaptation activities:

• Global cooperation: Climate funds are a promise by rich nations to assist developing nations in addressing climate change, underscoring the importance of international cooperation in this endeavour.
• Sustainable development: Investments in sustainable agriculture, clean energy, and robust infrastructure are encouraged by climate funds, which support sustainable development.
• Capacity development: Multilateral climate funds assist developing nations in strengthening their institutions, capabilities, and knowledge to effectively address the issues posed by climate change.
• Technology Transfer: The funds assist in transferring climate-friendly technologies and practices from developed countries to developing countries, enabling the adoption of cleaner and more sustainable technologies.

Challenges associated with the disbursement of these funds:

• Limited Institutional Structure: Many developing nations lack the resources and knowledge necessary to obtain and efficiently use climate funds. For instance, small island developing states (SIDS) may have trouble obtaining funding because of their constrained institutional resources.
• Uneven geographic distribution of finance: The largest share (38% to 53%) of funding from multilateral Climate Funds has been directed to the countries of the Asia Pacific region while Least Developed Countries collectively represented only 10% of the total finance received.
• High debt costs for climate/green projects: Developing countries have insisted that developed country climate finance should be from public sources and should be provided as grants or as concessional loans. The overwhelming provisioning of climate finance through loans risks exacerbates the debt crisis of many low-income countries.
• Data gap: The global landscape of climate finance is heavily biased in favour of renewable energy due to the lack of accurate project-level statistics for private investments outside of renewable energy.
• More focus on mitigation: Adaptation has traditionally received far less attention than mitigation in the global climate finance discourse. An important reason for this is that adaptation solutions often do not give an immediately palpable return on investment (ROI).

Conclusion:

India’s efforts to tap into global finance must address crucial concerns like accounting for climate change-induced, developing measures towards enhancing the resilience of communities, and habitations to climate change’s impact.