OCP and the ecbi warmly welcome today’s announcement by M. Philippe Couillard, Premier of Quebec, to contribute six million Canadian dollars to the UN Least Developed Countries Fund. As the first significant contribution by a sub-national government to a multilateral climate fund, this is a ground-breaking announcement with a historic potential that could change the paradigm of multilateral finance.

We have been very happy to support the idea of sub-national support for climate action in the poorest and most vulnerable countries through multilateral channels ever since it was launched in the Climate Strategies Policy Brief on Finance for the Paris Climate Compact: The role of earmarked (sub-) national contributions (June 2015), itself based on an earlier OCP/ecbi Think Piece entitled The Paris Predictability Problem: What to do about climate finance for the 2020 climate agreement? (April 2015).

We would like to thank Ms Christiana Figueres, UNFCCC Executive Secretary who, after the publication of the Policy Brief, introduced the idea and us to Premier Couillard’s office. Through this introduction, we were privileged to offer our modest support in operationalising the idea. We would also like to express our gratitude to Dr Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson of the Global Environment Facility which manages the LDCF for her support of the idea from the very beginning.

We hope that other sub-national governments will pick up Quebec’s historic baton and run with the idea for the good of the poorest and most vulnerable countries!