WAM (Bonn, 16th April 2012 (WAM) - The Interim Secretariat of the Green Climate Fund received six expressions of interest to the Fund's Board for hosting the Fund from the following Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC): 1. Germany 2. Mexico 3. Namibia 4. Poland 5. Republic of Korea 6. Switzerland The expressions of interest will be posted on the Green Climate Fund website http://www.gcfund.net as of 19 April 2012.

The criteria for the submission of expressions of interest were set by the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC. They included the ability to confer and/or recognize juridical personality and legal capacity to the Fund, the ability to provide the necessary privileges and immunities to the Fund, and financial arrangements, administrative and logistical support to the Fund, according to a press release from the Interim Secretariat for the Green Climate Fund.

At its first meeting, scheduled to take place from 31 May to 2 June in Geneva, Switzerland, the Green Climate Fund Board is going to consider these expressions of interest and initiate an open and transparent process for the selection of the host country. As a result of this process, the Board will take a decision on the host country at one of its subsequent meetings and present it to the Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC for endorsement at its next session to take place in Doha, Qatar, from 26 November to 7 December 2012.

The Green Climate Fund was established in December 2011 at Durban, South Africa, by the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC with the purpose of making a significant and ambitious contribution to the global efforts towards attaining the goals set by the international community to combat climate change. In the context of sustainable development, the Fund will promote the paradigm shift towards low-emission and climate-resilient development pathways by providing support to developing countries to limit or reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to the impacts of climate change. The Fund will provide simplified and improved access to climate change funding to developing countries, including direct access, basing its activities on a country-driven approach.

The Green Climate Fund will be governed and supervised by a 24-member Board and was designated as an operating entity of the financial mechanism of the UNFCCC. The Conference of the Parties requested the UNFCCC secretariat jointly with the secretariat of the Global Environment Facility to set up the Interim Secretariat for the Fund.

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