At the recent GEF Council meeting, member countries recognized that the potential financial implications of this new guidance are substantial. They also indicated that they are favourably disposed to addressing these implications in the next GEF replenishment. Many developing countries have expressed dissatisfaction with the difficulty of accessing GEF funds. The GEF has responded by streamlining its procedures and making them more effective. Canada recognizes that there is still room for improvement and is ready to work to make the GEF even more responsive to developing country needs.
Multilateral assistance is only one part of the solution.
Many donors have longstanding development assistance programs for climate change. Action is critical, but so is timing. The domestic frameworks to permit effective climate change action are not in place in many developing countries. Without prompt effort to build adequate capacity, valuable response time will be lost. Agreement at CoP 6 on a substantial capacity building package is within our grasp.