From Georgia to Grenada - climate protection with the Green Climate Fund

The Green Climate Fund is the world's largest instrument for financing climate action. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH has been entitled to apply for funding for projects from the GCF since 2016. This October, the GCF accredited GIZ for a further five years – the contract will be signed at the World Climate Conference in Dubai.

In Grenada, drinking water is becoming a scarce resource. Hurricanes and drought have attacked the infrastructure of the small island country, situated between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, and seawater has contaminated the groundwater. Climate change adaptation is a top priority for Grenada. Since 2020, GIZ has been working to make the water supply climate-resistant and crisis-proof. It is commissioned by the German Environment Ministry (BMUV), and the Green Climate Fund is a co-financier. A key aspect is saving water and storing and using rainwater.

For example, hotels are using rainwater for laundry and to water their gardens. Many accommodation facilities have installed new water pipes and modern showers and have added water-saving flush mechanisms to the toilets. Awareness-raising measures aim to encourage the population to consume less of this precious resource. Adele Garbutt is Managing Director of Calabash Luxury Hotels. On the subject of cooperation with GIZ, she says: ‘We have reduced our water consumption by 30 per cent. This has had a positive impact on our operating costs.’

GIZ is supporting the local water utility company in repairing pipes and improving its management.  Targeted readings and repairs have resulted in a 20 per cent drop in water losses in an initial residential area. In November, construction work began on new water storage tanks with more robust pipes. The higher storage volume ensures that the water supply is maintained, especially in extreme weather situations.

Around 230 projects in 140 countries

GIZ’s Ilona Porsché is responsible for developing the GCF projects. ‘Our work in Grenada is very extensive. The country’s entire population benefits from it,’ she explains.

The GCF was set up at the 2010 UN Climate Change Conference in Cancún. Around 50 countries have so far contributed 19 billion US dollars. This has financed 228 projects in 140 countries – primarily through subsidised loans and direct grants.

Porsché continues: ‘We work closely with the GCF and support our partner countries in planning, financing and implementing projects. In addition to Grenada, there is currently a project on efficient cooking stoves in Kenya and Senegal and in Georgia and in Laos there are projects addressing the forest sector. We also promote climate start-ups in Latin America and West Africa and recently received approval to support the rice sector in Thailand.’

In Georgia, the focus is on climate-friendly forest management. Karlo Amirgulashvili heads the Biodiversity and Forest Department at the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia. ‘Forests urgently need protection,’ he says. ‘The rural population still uses wood for heating far too often, which has reduced the tree population. The condition of the forest is worsening, and biodiversity is decreasing.’ Georgia’s government is therefore pursuing sustainable forest management. This includes new legislation for forest protection and reforestation, creating appropriate jobs and investing in alternative fuels and energy-efficient heating stoves. The plan is for around 100,000 people in rural areas to have heating through the winter and benefit from improved air. GIZ supports this on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

At the GCF’s third financing conference, donor countries pledged approximately EUR 8.5 billion for the GCF. Ilona Porsché is looking forward to the next five years of intensive cooperation – and beyond: ‘We are working with partner countries on a series of further projects to protect the climate together, including in Peru, Albania, Indonesia and Madagascar’.

Last updated: November 2023