“We must maintain climate ambitions in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic based on global solidarity,” GCF Executive Director Yannick Glemarec said in televised remarks during the Austrian World Summit.
“In this regard, I would like to thank the government of Austria for its new, additional contribution of EUR 100 million to the Green Climate Fund’s first replenishment, making a five-fold increase compared to our Initial Resource Mobilization in 2014 - a truly remarkable commitment.”
Austrian Minister for Climate Action Leonore Gewessler said GCF’s investment in climate action with high development co-benefits is now critical as developing countries face the effects of COVID-19.
“At a time when developing countries are facing massive unemployment and unprecedented economic contractions, GCF-financed projects translate national climate ambitions into reality and catalyse larger financial flows that are critical for economic recovery,” she added.
Austria’s financial boost of support for GCF adds to its earlier pledge, along with other countries, at GCF’s first pledging conference in October last year that pooled a total of USD 9.78 billion in climate finance.