The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2017

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2017 29 and Germany. It is a coalition of developing and developed countries and international institutions working together to help developing countries achieve their climate objectives. In par- ticular, the partnership aims to help countries navigate the “vast, fragmented array” of technical and financial support through its knowledge products such as the NDC Funding and Initiatives Navigator database and the NDC Toolbox Navigator. Green Climate Fund. Although launched under the auspices of the UNFCCC, the GCF operates as an independent organiza- tion with a separate board comprised of 12 developed and 12 developing nations and its own secretariat in South Korea. The GCF is intended to be a principal mechanism for providing developing countries with support for low-carbon, climate- resilient development and adaptation. To date, 43 countries have pledged more than $10 billion, including $3 billion from the United States, of which $1 billion has been paid. GCF uses multiple financial instruments, including grants, concessional loans, debt, equity and guarantees, and has a dedicated private- sector facility. w Non-Paris Multilateral Initiatives Formal Agreements. Two other climate-relevant international agreements were successfully negotiated in the months following adoption of the Paris Agreement but independent of it: Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. Adopted in October 2016, the amendment provides for a global phase-down of certain hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are chemicals used chiefly in refrigeration and air conditioning as substitutes for ozone-depleting substances. These HFCs are extremely potent heat-trapping gases (up to several thousand times more power- ful than carbon dioxide). Implementation of the amendment will prevent more than 0.5 degrees Celsius of warming this century, a significant contribution toward the Paris Agreement’s goal of holding warming to less than 2 degrees. Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation . CORSIA was adopted in October 2016 by the Interna- tional Civil Aviation Organization to avoid post-2020 growth in carbon dioxide emissions from international civilian flights that depart from one country and arrive in another. CORSIA is the first