Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) has signed an 'unearmarked' Contribution Agreement with the Adaptation Fund that will go towards funding adaptation and resilience programmes for the most vulnerable countries to climate change, Qatar News Agency (QNA) reports.
The new contribution aims to finance climate change adaptation projects in developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change, including those in least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing states (SIDS).
The new partnership between QFFD and the Adaptation Fund will focus on helping the most vulnerable countries adapt and build resilience to climate change and will be strongly aligned with climate change integration guidelines between both parties.
In addition to the fund's concrete adaptation projects on the ground, the partnership will support the fund's actions to foster the scaling up of effective projects, and spreading learning and knowledge and innovative solutions in adaptation to help address the continued urgency of climate change and build broader resilience in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, the QNA report states.
“The partnership with the Adaptation Fund will help address and combat climate change challenges specifically related to LDCs and SIDS (and other vulnerable developing countries). Such a partnership will ensure concrete adaptation activities that reduce the adverse effects of climate change facing communities, countries and sectors. We look forward to working together towards capacity-building, for preventive measures, planning, preparedness and management of disasters relating to climate change,” said Khalifa bin Jassim al-Kuwari, director-general for the Qatar Fund for Development, in a press statement issued by QFFD.
"With this first-time contribution to the Adaptation Fund, Qatar is demonstrating its leadership and commitment in supporting climate resilience and adaptation through its ongoing partnerships with and contributions to multilateral climate funds. This contribution to the fund will directly help improve livelihoods of the most vulnerable communities in developing countries, including in SIDS and LDCs, by financing tangible and effective adaptation actions on the ground," said Ibila Djibril, Adaptation Fund board chair.
The Adaptation Fund was created in 2001 and launched in 2007 under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and formally serves the Paris Climate Change Agreement. To date, it has committed about $783mn for climate change adaptation and resilience projects and programmes, including 115 adaptation projects in the most vulnerable communities of developing countries around the world with more than 9mn direct beneficiaries.
