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The Green Climate Fund’s (GCF’s) first private sector support for the blue economy has taken a step further in bolstering coral reefs from the climate crisis.
GCF has signed a funded activity agreement with Pegasus Capital Advisors to unlock
USD 125 million of GCF investments in the Global Fund for Coral Reef, an innovative programme which harnesses private sector finances to increase the resilience of coral reefs.
GCF’s anchor financing has opened an investment window to provide capital to initiatives that enhance the resilience of coral reefs and the communities that depend on them in 17 countries across Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Hailing the partnership agreement, GCF Executive Director Yannick Glemarec said: “Our first-loss equity investment will help to tackle critical financing and private investment barriers and catalyse much larger financial flows and investment. The project aims to establish a successful commercial track record for investments protecting coral reefs and the livelihoods of millions of people in some of the world’s most climate vulnerable countries.”
Pegasus Capital Advisors Chief Executive Officer Craig Cogut said: “As the largest blended finance initiative dedicated to Sustainable Development Goal 14 focusing on the oceans, seas and marine resources, the Global Fund for Coral Reefs will play a critical role in addressing the resiliency of coral reefs and coastal communities. We are grateful to the GCF and its host countries for their support of this innovative fund.”
Cogut also thanked other partners in the Global Fund for Coral Reefs coalition, including UNDP, UNCDF, UNEP, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, and the governments of the UK, Germany, Canada, and France, as well as the GFCR Equity Fund advisors at SystemIQ.
The Global Fund for Coral Reefs is a 10-year, USD 625 million blended finance vehicle consisting of a grant window, designed to incubate a pipeline of investible projects, and an investment window – to which GCF is contributing.
Climate change is placing an increasing strain on the world’s coral reefs, along with the nearly quarter of all marine species which depend on them.