Invest KOREA

According to Yonhap News,

(SEOUL = Yonhap News) The headquarters of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Korean office of the World Bank were officially opened in a ceremony this week in Songdo International City, according to the City of Incheon.

The GCF will be in the G-Tower, where the main office of the Incheon Free Economic Zone is located. The World Bank will settle in the POSCO E&C Songdo Office Tower, which is known as the Twin Towers.

The GCF, known as the “World Bank of the environmental world,” is the first international organization to be hosted by Korea.

The launch of the GCF is forecast to improve Incheon’s status as an international city pursuing green growth.

Fewer than 40 workers are working in the Songdo office, but the number is expected to increase into the hundreds soon as the organization gets on the track.

The GCF plays a pivotal role in raising funds worldwide to help developing countries tackle climate change.

Some developed countries contributed USD 30 billion (KRW 31.7 trillion) from 2010 to 2012 to the fund and plan to raise USD 30 billion between 2013 and 2015. Starting from 2020, the GCF board will raise USD 100 billion (KRW 105.7 trillion) annually.

The Korean office of the World Bank is forecast to support a broad range of issues including information exchange, development finance and investment guarantee.

It will also perform the functions of the International Finance Corporation and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency to boost development cooperation projects.

The WB office is expected to have 20 employees.

“The GCF and World Bank are expected to create a synergy effect in the area of fund management and development cooperation projects. The opening ceremony, which caught the world’s attention, is also expected to increase Incheon’s brand value,” said an Incheon official.

The opening ceremony was attended by International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and other heads of international organizations, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the African Development Bank.

The Korean government held a Climate Finance Week from December 2 to December 6 to celebrate the launch of the GCF.

Many forums on climate change and financing relevant businesses will be held in Songdo this week.

The Global Forum on Using Country Systems to Manage Climate Change Finance was held December 2 and 3 in Songdo. Participants included government officials from the economy and environment-related departments of many nations and representatives of international organizations and research institutes.

Also a part of Climate Finance Week are a strategic forum on global green technology-finance policies and the Climate Finance Private Investment Seminar.