Today at the UN Climate Change Conference in Katowice, Minister Svenja Schulze announced that the Federal Environment Ministry will make an additional 70 million euros available to the Adaptation Fund. The Fund helps population groups and regions particularly affected by climate change to better prepare themselves for climate impacts. It finances, for instance, early warning systems for floods and heavy rainfall, and measures for securing water supply and switching to drought-resistant farming methods in agriculture. With a total contribution of 240 million euros to date, Germany is already the largest donor to the Fund.
Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze commented: "Through our support of the Adaptation Fund we are sending a message of solidarity. Because it is those who have contributed least to climate change that are suffering the most. The Adaptation Fund helps those most affected directly on the ground with innovative and effective projects. Furthermore, the Fund is highly respected in the climate negotiations as it perfectly meets the needs of particularly vulnerable developing countries."
So far, the Fund has approved over 80 projects and programmes with a total funding volume of 532 million US dollars. Applications have been submitted for a further 45 projects with a funding volume of approximately 335 million US dollars.
The projects financed by the Adaptation Fund are approved by an international supervisory board in which the German government is also represented. The Fund is managed jointly and at eye level by developing countries and industrialised countries.
Originally the Fund was to be entirely financed through levies from international carbon market projects, more specifically a share of proceeds from certificates from the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol. Decrease in demand for certificates and lower prices, however, led to the Fund being underfinanced. The gap in financing is now being bridged by voluntary contributions from several donor countries to ensure the continued implementation of projects. Alongside Germany, voluntary contributions have been made, in particular, by Sweden, Spain, Italy and Belgium. Negotiations are currently still ongoing in relation to the role of the Adaptation Fund in implementing the Paris Agreement and the question of whether the Fund will in future be financed through new market mechanisms envisaged under the Paris Agreement. The Adaptation Fund is currently operating under the Kyoto Protocol which runs out in 2021. The EU advocates assigning the Adaptation Fund to the Paris Agreement by 2021 at the latest.