GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (August 23, 2012)— After months of deliberation on the composition of the Green Climate Fund Board, today was the start of its first meeting, which will last through Saturday, August 25, 2012.  During these three meeting days, the board has a full agenda, including deciding which country will host the Fund.  One of the first substantive items on the agenda will be arrangements for observer participation in the Board meetings followed soon thereafter by a discussion on the work plan of the Board.  These two agenda items are important for first defining how civil society can meaningfully participate in these meetings as well as allowing both board members and attending CSOs to gain an understanding of the future work of the Board that will soon lead to operationalization of the GCF.

For this first meeting, WEDO with a group of organizations, most of which are members of the Global Gender and Climate Alliance (GGCA), compiled a two-pager on gender equality in the GCF,  to remind board members of the agreed language on gender equality and gave recommendations on how it can be operationalized.  The document emphasizes that an important first step is that the “GCF Board should ensure that all GCF Board meetings are open to a wide group of observers, including women, that Board proceedings are transparent and web-cast and that key documents are shared for stakeholder input in advance of meetings.”  WEDO looks forward to updates from colleagues attending the meeting as well as the formal outcome of the first board meeting and will continue to advocate for gender equality to be an integral part of the GCF operations.

About
The Green Climate Fund was approved at the 2010 Cancun COP16 climate talks. The aim of the mechanism is to channel $100 billion a year towards the world’s poorest nations in an attempt to help them cope with the effects of climate change. For more information on the Fund, visit http://gcfund.net