Developed countries have made little progress in providing climate
finance for the transition towards low-emission and climateadaptive
development pathways in developing countries. It is expected that a new legal agreement on climate finance will be reached at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris (COP 21) later this year. It is vital that developing countries are able to motivate for greater climate finance
accessibility. To this end, developing countries must demonstrate their
ability to manage funds, develop projects that respond to social needs
and indicate clear impact and results. Rwanda, which has successfully
accessed some level of climate finance, provides lessons on how this
may be done.

This briefing outlines some of the reasons for Rwanda’s
success. It focuses on its platforms for cross-institutional learning and
engagement and the need for inclusivity at a local level. The briefing
also details how project development capacity has been strengthened
through the establishment of a dedicated climate fund.

Recommedations:

• an enabling policy environment with strong co-operative governance systems will assist in attracting increased climate finance. First, developing countries should produce their own climate change development strategy to guide and align stakeholders. Setting up and actively using multi-stakeholder engagement platforms, such as Rwanda’s joint sector reviews, would further partnerships and facilitate cross-institutional learning
• to enhance project development capacity for climate-related projects, African countries should consider setting up a dedicated climate fund similar to FONERWA, with the
  expertise to manage funding, assist in selecting and preparing projects and monitor their implementation.
  This would also help to obtain additional climate finance and
  leverage other sources and types of finance by creating the primary means through which resources are channelled and administered
• project M&E is vital to ensuring the long-term sustainability and sufficiency of climate finance. Project implementers should therefore ensure that M&E plans are included in all projects, enhance local capacity to undertake evaluations and disseminate findings