UN Green Climate Fund approves first project for North Korea

The UN Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved $752,000 in funding for North Korea to help Pyongyang deal with climate change, marking the first financing project by the fund for the reclusive nation, a media report said.

The fund will help North Korea improve its “readiness” to tackle climate change, Yonhap News Agency said in the report on Friday citing the GCF as saying.

North Korea is a party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and to the landmark Paris climate agreement.

In January, North Korea registered a national designated authority as its communication channel with the GCF.

Yannick Glemarec, executive director of the GCF, told Yonhap News Agency that North Korea can receive conditional financing for low-emission, climate-resilient development.

“(North Korea) is eligible to GCF support provided it meets all the environmental and social safeguards for its project with (the) GCF,” he said.

Launched in 2010, the GCF aims to channel money from industrialized nations to developing countries to help them tackle climate change-related problems.

Source: IANS