22 April 2024, WASHINGTON D.C. – Back-to-back with World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings, the Board of the Global Shield against Climate Risks composed of representatives from both climate vulnerable and supporting countries, met in a hybrid session on April 18th to welcome a new group of countries that can now access support from the Global Shield.
In January 2024, the Global Shield issued a call for applications, inviting authorities from climate vulnerable countries to express their interest in accessing support from this critical initiative. With an overwhelming response, 21 countries signaled their interest. Selecting the next group of countries was, among others, based on the Prioritisation Framework that assessed countries’ readiness level, climate risk exposure, and other macroeconomic variables.
On April 18th, the Board endorsed The Gambia, Madagascar, Peru, Rwanda and Somalia as the next set of beneficiary countries of the Global Shield. This Board decision will enable the Global Shield Secretariat to engage with countries to set up the In-Country Process for Global Shield support. Remaining countries will be considered on a case-by-case basis depending on resource availability and in consultation with the Global Shield Board.
In welcoming the new group of countries, Global Shield Co-Chair, Hon. Dr. Amin Adam, Minister of Finance from Ghana said: “We believe that the Global Shield against Climate Risks and the toolbox it offers is an important part of the solution. It can be seen as a trailblazer, if we strive to not only deliver on implementing financial protection packages, but also have this initiative as a starting point for the transformation of the international financial architecture relating to risk management. We learned that 21 countries applied for Global Shield support this year. This high demand shows us that what we have to offer is valuable. It also speaks to the urgent need for additional support to the initiative, be it financial, in-kind, or political support.”
During the session, the Global Shield Board welcomed Luxembourg as a new member of the Board. Board members vividly discussed the strategic trajectory of the Global Shield and its pivotal role in responding to climate-induced loss and damage. They highlighted the niche role of the Global Shield in the pre-arranged solutions space that must co-exist in the broader climate financing architecture, including in the support landscape for responding to loss and damage. The Board further underscored its firm commitment to the cause with today’s release of the 2023 status update and mid-term review of the InsuResilience Vision 2025.
To this, Global Shield Co-Chair, Dr. Bärbel Kofler highlighted: “The Global Shield against Climate Risks is at the forefront of international efforts responding to loss and damage from climate change. In 2023, the demand-driven and inclusive work kicked-off in Ghana and Pakistan. The Pacific region and further countries will follow soon.”
Inclusive work is at the core of Global Shield values. The Board gladly welcomed the newly elected observers from Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Ruth Faith Likambale, representing The Civil Society Network on Climate Change (CISONECC) and Anna Farina, representing START Network.
They highlighted the importance of the Global Shield for the emerging support landscape for responding to loss and damage and urged the Board to ensure clarity about the initiative’s role in this context. In addition, they asked the Board to expand already existing linkages between the Global Shield and anticipatory action as well as shock-responsive social protection systems. Finally, they emphasised the need to strengthen the close collaboration with local CSOs and at-risk communities even more when implementing the solutions of the Global Shield.
With accelerating climate change, more severe and frequent extreme weather events are expected to threaten sustainable development gains of particularly vulnerable countries. To address this, the V20 Finance Ministers together with the Group of Seven (G7) and other supporting countries, launched the Global Shield against Climate Risks at COP27. With around EUR 300 million raised in funds, the aim of the Global Shield is to increase protection for vulnerable people by providing and facilitating substantially higher and more effective pre-arranged finance against disasters.
For more information or media inquiries, please contact:
Global Shield Secretariat: secretariat@globalshield.org
V20 Secretariat: media@cvfv20.org
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