Japan's Fast Start Finance

Contents
1 Summary
2 Graphs and statistics
3 Basic Description
4 Fund Governance
5 Relationship with Official Development Assistance
Summary

In December 2009, Japan announced the Hatoyama Initiative (now commonly referred to as the Fast-Start Financing), which pledged USD$15 billion in public and private financial assistance to help developing countries address climate change. Consisting of USD$11 billion in public finance and USD$4 billion in private finance, this Fast-Start Financing (FSF) replaced the government's previous financing mechanism known as the 'Cool Earth Partnership' (2008 - 2010).

Graphs and statistics

Basic Description

Name of Fund	Japan's Fast Start Finance (previously known as the Hatoyama Initiative).
Official Fund Website	http://www.faststartfinance.org/contributing_country/japan
Date Created	Initially the Cool Earth Partnership in 2008, then replaced by the Hatoyama Initiative in December 2009, and now referred to as Fast-Start Financing (FSF) following the resignation of Prime Minister Hatoyama in 2010.
Proposed Life of Fund	FSF/Hatoyama Initiative: 2009/2010 - 2012 Cool Earth Partnership: 2008 - 2010
Administrating Organisation	Japanese Ministry of Finance.
Objectives	Japan's FSF aims to provide assistance to developing countries with existing efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or who are particularly vulnerable to climate change, to enable them to achieve economic growth in ways that will contribute to climate stability.
Activities Supported	Japan's FSF supports both mitigation and adaptation activities. Mitigation assistance may take the form of energy savings, increased energy efficiency technologies, and new, clean energy initiatives. Assistance for adaptation projects may include adaptation planning, forestry, rural electrification research, drought management, and co-benefit approaches. Approximately 50% of Japan's grant aid is focussed on adaptation activities in Africa and Least Developed Countries (LDC). Additionally, through the International Energy Saving Project and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) assists private sector actors engage in mitigation efforts in developing countries.
Conditions and Eligibility	Developing countries who have entered into direct, bilateral discussions with the Government of Japan are eligible for FSF, although some private sector actors may also be considered.
Accessing the Fund	The usual process of cooperation is: 1) Bilateral negotiations to agree on concept; 2) A bilateral memorandum of understanding on a post-Kyoto strategy; and 3) Preparation of a country strategy paper, which should respect national ownership and complement the Paris Declaration agenda.

Fund Governance

Decision Making Structure	As with the Hatoyama Initiative, the FSF is coordinated by the Japanese Ministry of Finance and governed by a five ministerial meeting, composed of the Chief Cabinet Secretary, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry, Minister for Environment, and Minister for Finance. It meets on an irregular basis, and on average once a month. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has established an Experts' Panel on Development Corporation in the Field of Climate Change, consisting of Japanese academic experts, to help guide the development of the FSF. Additionally, representatives of other ministries and agencies participate as observers in discussions.
Non Government Stakeholder Participation	Unknown.
Information Disclosure	Unknown.
Issues Raised	Unknown.

Relationship with Official Development Assistance

Inclusion as Official Development Assistance

Yes.

USD7.2 billion is classified as ODA.

Financial Instrument/ Delivery Mechanism Used (e.g. grant, loan)

The FSF is composed of two types of assistance:

1) USD$7.2 billion in Official Development Assistance (ODA) such as grant aid, technical cooperation, concessional loans and contributions to multilateral funds.

2) USD$7.8 billion in Other Official Flow (OOF), which includes official financing in collaboration with the private sector such as preferential loans by the Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC).

Nature of Recipient Country Involvement

Recipient country involvement is based on direct, bilateral consultations with the government of Japan. The usual process of cooperation is:

1) Bilateral negotiations to agree on concept;
2) A bilateral memorandum of understanding on a post-Kyoto strategy; and
3) Preparation of a country strategy paper, which should respect national ownership and complement the Paris Declaration agenda.