A new United Nations climate finance body to be headquartered in South Korea plans to hire dozens of professionals by next year, the South Korean government said Monday.

“The GCF secretariat plans to hire 48 professionals by the first half of next year,” said South Korea’s Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok.

The announcement came as South Korea’s Songdo District in Incheon, west of Seoul, was selected last year to host its secretariat, raising hopes that the country will play a bigger role on the international stage in tackling global challenges of climate change.

GCF is a U.N. environment fund launched at the end of 2010 with the purpose of channeling money from industrialized nations to developing countries, helping them tackle global warming and other causes of climate change while pursuing economic growth.

It is frequently referred to as the “World Bank” of green growth and climate change fronts. South Korea plans to contribute $2 million by next year to GCF. (Yonhap News)