Earth Today | New grant programme for adaptation innovation in vulnerable countries

THE ADAPTATION Fund has announced the launch of a new US$10-million pilot innovation programme.

Announced at the international climate talks in Madrid, Spain, in December, the programme is to foster innovation in adaptation in developing countries, and will target a broad range of potential finance recipients, including non-governmental organisations, community groups, young innovators and the private sector.

Two of the fund’s accredited multilateral implementing entities, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Environment Programme (UNEP), will each receive US$5 million to administer and aggregate about 45 small grants (up to US$ 250,000 each).

UNEP will also work in conjunction with the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), which is the operational arm of the UNFCCC Technology Mechanism.

“The new programme adds a new financing opportunity for the most vulnerable communities under the fund’s overall Innovation Facility, which includes a recently launched separate innovation grant funding window that is available to accredited national implementing entities (NIEs) under the fund’s pioneering Direct Access modality that builds country ownership in adaptation,” the fund said in a release.

It also recently launched new grant funding windows to accelerate project scale-ups and disseminate knowledge of effective adaptation actions — which are available to NIEs. All of these grants are available in addition to the fund’s regular project funding channels.

Meanwhile, the new innovation programme will provide special financing opportunities to support innovation for adaptation to developing countries that do not yet have NIEs, as well as the private sector. UNDP and UNEP will act as small grant aggregators for innovation, making grants available to a broad scope of stakeholders on a competitive basis.