Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium Pledges New Support to the Adaptation Fund for those Most Vulnerable to Climate Change

EUR 600K Pledge Marks Region’s 4^th Contribution to Fund; Underscores Important Trend of Growing Climate Finance Support from Subnational Governments

Washington, D.C. (December 15, 2017) — In a move demonstrating its continued commitment to support the Adaptation Fund’s work in funding concrete projects that help the most vulnerable communities in developing countries adapt to climate change, the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium has pledged a new commitment to the Fund of more than EUR 600,000 for 2017.

The new pledge raises further momentum for the Fund, which broke its single-year resource mobilization record during the UN COP 23 climate change conference in Bonn, Germany last month as it celebrated its 10^th anniversary and also advanced significantly toward formally serving the landmark Paris Agreement when member countries of the Kyoto Protocol decided the Fund “shall serve” the Agreement in a milestone decision for the Fund and the vulnerable countries it serves. Preparatory work has already progressed toward follow-up decisions expected next year.

The Brussels Capital-Region’s new pledge, combined with those announced during COP 23 from Germany, Sweden, Italy, the Walloon Region of Belgium, and first-time Adaptation Fund contributor Ireland, grows the Fund’s total in new commitments raised to approximately US$ 95.5 million – significantly more than the US$ 80 million target it had set for 2017.

“In 2017, where the COP 23 has been chaired by the Fiji islands, it is even more significant for the Brussels Region to support the most vulnerable countries,” said Madam Céline Fremault, Brussels-Capital Region Minister for Environment and Energy. “We therefore are honored to dedicate this year a large part of our financial contribution to the Adaptation Fund.”

This marks the fourth time that the Brussels-Capital Region has committed funding to the Adaptation Fund. Its initial pledge of EUR 1.2 million in 2013 was the first to a multilateral climate fund from a regional government, which has now become an important trend as subnational governments, the private sector and national governments are more often mobilizing their collective efforts to help address overwhelming global climate finance needs and the rising urgency of climate change.

The Brussels-Capital Region followed that initial pledge to the Fund with contributions of EUR 0.5 million in 2014, EUR 2.5 million in 2016 and now EUR 0.6 million this year.

“This new pledge demonstrates the Brussels-Capital Region’s consistent commitment to supporting the vulnerable countries that the Fund serves in adapting to climate change,” said Adaptation Fund Board Chair Michael Kracht. “We thankfully welcome this widening support for the Fund, with six contributors now stepping forward in 2017 including first-time contributor Ireland.”

Although the Adaptation Fund initially relied on proceeds from the sale of Certified Emission Reduction credits for adaptation through the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism as its primary funding source, it has increasingly depended on voluntary public and private contributions since the global carbon market dropped sharply in 2012.

“We are very grateful to the Brussels-Capital Region, and this strengthens our growing base of support and ability to reach even more vulnerable communities with urgently needed adaptation solutions,” said Mikko Ollikainen, Manager of the Adaptation Fund Board Secretariat. “The decision by Parties during COP 23 / CMP 13 that the Fund shall serve the Paris Agreement also verified what the Fund has already been doing to help operationalize the goals of the agreement through the concrete, localized adaptation projects it funds in vulnerable countries and building countries’ national capacities to adapt to climate change with its pioneering Direct Access modality.”

The Brussels-Capital Region is part of Belgium’s National Climate Plan based on a cooperative federal and regional agreement after Belgium signed the Kyoto Protocol in 1998, with carbon emission reductions being one of the Brussels-Capital Region’s commitments. The Brussels-Capital Region also has a sustainable development policy related to development, urban planning, mobility and the environment.

The Brussels-Capital Region’s new commitment to the Adaptation Fund appropriately comes on the heels of the One Planet Summit in Paris convened by France, the World Bank and United Nations two years after countries adopted the landmark Paris Agreement. The summit accelerated further action on climate finance, giving higher momentum for the Paris Agreement, support for countries’ national climate action plans, sustainable development and a low carbon future. It also focused on how public and private finance can innovate to support and accelerate global efforts to fight climate change.

ABOUT the ADAPTATION FUND

Since 2010, the Adaptation Fund has committed US$ 462 million to support 73 countries, with nearly 5.5 million direct beneficiaries.

Communications: Matthew Pueschel, mpueschel@adaptation-fund.org or +1-202-473-6743

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