Kathmandu, March 3 The board meeting of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved the accreditation application of Nepal’s first national direct access entity, the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC). With this accreditation, AEPC can access up to $50 million in GCF funds for lowcarbon, climate resilient development projects and programmes in Nepal. The meeting was held from February 26-28 in South Korea. This outstanding milestone for climate finance in Nepal was the result of the strong commitment of AEPC, the leadership of Nepal’s National Designated Authority (NDA) to the fund, as per a press statement released by the Ministry of Finance. The programme is funded by the Government of Germany (BMU) and jointly implemented by the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Environment Programme. “This is a landmark moment for Nepal whereby a federal government institution has been accredited for direct access with the largest global fund on climate change,” said Shreekrishna Nepal, joint secretary at the Finance Ministry and NDA focal person at the ministry. “This will help the country access and mobilise resources for low-emission and climate resilient projects,” he added. Madhusudan Adhikari, executive director of AEPC, said despite the rigorous and stringent process, the centre was able to gain accreditation status with GCF. “We are committed to accessing resources as per adaptation and mitigation priorities, aligned with our country’s national development strategies.” The government, through the NDA, had nominated four national entities through open competitive process by inviting applications to gain accreditation status. At the moment, National Trust for Nature Conservation, Nepal Investment Bank and Town Development Fund are still in the pipeline for accreditation with GCF. Renaud Meyer, resident representative of UNDP Nepal, said that GCF will help Nepal access the necessary finance to address climate change issues in the country.