SONGDO – On 03 May, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Independent Integrity Unit (IIU) welcomed Mr. John Versantvoort, the Head of the Office of Anticorruption and Integrity (OAI) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to discuss the increasing significance of integrity in climate-financed projects.

During the meeting, the IIU introduced its mandate and the continued development of its analytics capabilities with the Unit’s Integrity Due Diligence Platform (IDDP). The IDDP assesses GCF projects for potential integrity risks and vulnerabilities using machine learning and intelligent automation tools and applies its findings to the project selection process for Proactive Integrity Reviews (PIRs).

Mr. Versantvoort expressed his appreciation for the IIU's hospitality and was delighted to reconnect with IIU colleagues since 2018 when GCF hosted the 19th Conference of International Investigators in Songdo in partnership with ADB. The two organisations discussed the possibility of partnership opportunities and other capacity-building initiatives. Both parties highlighted the need to address integrity-related matters in climate-finance projects and expressed interest in creating knowledge products and organising webinars.

The IIU and ADB also touched on their respective risk management systems, with ADB introducing its Integrity Intelligence Risk System and IIU highlighting its application of machine learning to PIRs.

As the collaboration between IIU and ADB OAI continues to grow, both organisations aim to enhance transparency and integrity in climate-finance projects, ensuring that funds are used effectively to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change.