In July 2012 NGOs called on governments to pivot away from funding the Bank-housed Climate Investment Funds (CIFs). Concerns have also been raised about private sector delivery of climate finance and that the Bank’s efforts to push carbon markets are undermining genuine reforms in the forest sector.
Concerned about the lack of funding for the United Nations’ new Green Climate Fund (GCF, see Update 79), 117 NGOs, including the Beyond Copenhagen Coalition from India and Oxfam International, wrote to government funders of the CIFs in April 2012 calling on them to “adhere to the CIFs sunset clause and actively support the GCF as the primary international financial institution for climate finance.” The letter stated that “new contributions to the CIFs could create a disincentive for the early operationalisation of the GCF, encourage expansion of the CIFs, and prolong their operation.” It also called for “a fully independent review of the CIFs’ overall performance, as well as their programs and projects.”
