Marine and coastal ecosystems — mangroves, salt marshes, seagrasses, and coral reefs—provide critical ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration, food security, provision of livelihoods such as fisheries and tourism, and protection of coastal infrastructure. These ecosystems are increasingly threatened by human interference and by natural events exacerbated by climate change. Yet they remain underrepresented in global climate finance flows.

This publication, developed with GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit), aims to support Green Climate Fund (GCF) Accredited Entities (AEs) in preparing impactful proposals and identifying risks and opportunities for the protection, conservation, and sustainable use of coastal and marine ecosystems. It is relevant to other organisations developing projects and writing funding proposals in the ocean-climate nexus.

The working paper examines topics such as financing gaps and opportunities, GCF’s financial instruments to unlock public and private capital, and financing pathways such as blue bonds. It includes an Annex Resource booklet that provides expert resources and data references to assist AEs in preparing proposals, including a section on risk assessment approaches with practical tools and data sources for evaluating habitat conditions, carbon stocks, climate vulnerability, and ecosystem services to support project planning.