Global Shield Financing Facility

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

The World Bank Group has announced a Global Shield Financing Facility to help developing countries access more financing for recovery from natural disasters and climate shocks.

About Global Shield Financing Facility Initiative

• The Global Shield Against Climate Risks initiative was launched at the 27th Conference of Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
• This facility will support the Global Shield Against Climate Risks, a joint initiative launched today at COP27 by the G7 and V20 to better protect poor and vulnerable people from disasters by pre-arranging more financing before disasters strike.
• The Global Shield Financing Facility will channel grants to developing countries through World Bank projects or through projects prepared by other participating partners, including UN agencies and multilateral development banks. 
• It will also work closely with key stakeholders, such as civil society organizations, risk pools, private sector and humanitarian partners.
• Pakistan, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Fiji, Senegal, Philippines and Ghana will be the first to receive assistance under this initiative.
• The initial contributions for this initiative are provided Germany, Denmark, Ireland and Canada.

About V20 Countries

• Vulnerable Twenty (V20) Group of Ministers of Finance of the Climate Vulnerable Forum is a dedicated cooperation initiative of economies systemically vulnerable to climate change.
• It was established on 08 October 2015 at Lima, Peru.
• It’s primary objective is to promote the mobilisation of climate finance.
• Survive Thrive #1.5C aims to promote actions to keep warming below 1.5°C and urges people to get involved and keep updated on limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
• The call to create the V20 originated from the Climate Vulnerable Forum’s Costa Rica Action Plan (2013-2015) in a major effort to strengthen economic and financial responses to climate change.
• It foresaw a high-level policy dialogue pertaining to action on climate change and the promotion of climate resilient and low emission development with full competence for addressing economic and financial issues beyond the remit of any one organization.
• The V20 is a bloc consists of countries most threatened by climate change including’s members are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bhutan, Costa Rica, East Timor, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Kiribati, Madagascar, the Maldives, Nepal, the Philippines, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Tanzania, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Vietnam.