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The 48 countries categorised as Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are the only country grouping to be accorded a dedicated article in the text of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Paragraph 9 of Article 4 mandates all countries party to the Convention to “take full account of the specific needs and special situations of the least developed countries in their actions with regard to funding and transfer of technology”. The Conference of the Parties’ (COP) decision in 2001 to establish a fund explicitly for LDCs were therefore significant, as this not only reflected progress towards the implementation of this provision, but also reaffirmed the need to address the LDCs’ unique circumstances.

This paper introduces the context in which the LDCF was established, its mandate and its governance structure. It presents an overview of how the fund has been uniquely designed to respond to the specific situations of LDCs, and presents of the current status of the fund. It explores the perspectives of LDC stakeholders on how the fund has been running over the years. Finally, it introduces options for the way forward, in the context of the fund continuing in the post-2020 climate regime, and next steps.