Adaptation Fund
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Introduction and background
The Adaptation Fund was established to finance concrete adaptation projects and programmes in developing countries that are parties to the Kyoto Protocol and are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. Over the past two years, the fund has dedicated more than US$165 million to increase climate resilience in 25 countries around the world.
Climate change is increasing the burdens of the poorest people in the world, who are often hardest hit by weather catastrophes, desertification, and rising sea levels, but who have contributed the least to the problem of global warming. In some parts of the world, climate change has already contributed to worsening food security, reduced the predictable availability of fresh water, and exacerbated the spread of disease and other threats to human health.
Helping the most vulnerable countries and communities is thus an increasing challenge and duty for the international community, especially because adaptation to climate change requires significant resources in addition to what is already needed to achieve international development objectives.
Governance and administration
The Adaptation Fund is supervised and managed by the Adaptation Fund Board (AFB). The Board is composed of 16 members and 16 alternates and holds periodic meetings throughout the year.
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) provides secretariat services to the AFB and the World Bank serves as trustee of the Adaptation Fund, both on an interim basis. A review of these institutional arrangements began in 2011 and is expected to be finalized by the end of 2012.
Resources
Under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), emission-reduction projects in developing countries can earn certified emission reduction (CER) credits. These credits can be traded and sold by industrialized countries to meet a part of their emission reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol. Financing for the Adaptation Fund comes mainly from sales of certified emission reductions. The share of proceeds amounts to 2 percent of the value of CERs issued each year for CDM projects.
The fund also receives contributions from governments, the private sector, and individuals.
Source: Adaptation Fund