Just a fraction of 120 emissions-cutting and climate adaptation project plans proposed by poorer nations “look promising”, the head of the Green Climate Fund said on Monday.

Addressing Monday’s high-level UN climate meeting in New York, Hela Cheikhrouhou said GCF staff were working hard to complete a review of the first funding requests by developing nations before the December Paris climate conference.

She said the promising activities in the requests submitted amounted to around $500 million of needed funding while the bulk of the first batch of initiatives submitted, estimated to cost $6 billion in total, require significant work.

“I would note that project ideas and concept notes received vary greatly in their level of advancement and quality. They require significant work to reach qualified funding requests.”

The GCF has around $5.5 billion of $10.2 billion pledged by mainly developed nations, and it aims to submit to its board “some initial projects” approved for funding ahead of the Paris UNFCCC talks.

The first set are due to be OK’ed at the GCF Board’s next meeting in November.

The GCF’s recent impact analysis said the fund will prioritise projects that are not adequately supported by existing climate finance mechanisms, in particular for cities, land management and the resilience of small island states.

Though the fund is required to split 50-50 its cash between adaptation and mitigation, observers expect carbon-cutting CDM projects and Programmes of Activities (PoAs) to apply and receive at least a small share of the money.

By Ben Garside – ben@carbon-pulse.com