COP28: Green Climate Fund reaches record funding level

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) received a boost to its second replenishment (GCF-2) with the announcement of six new pledges. Australia, Estonia, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland and the United States of America pledged new funding at the opening High-level Segment of world leaders at COP28.

The additional USD 3.5 billion builds on momentum from GCF’s High-level Pledging Conference in Bonn in October, where 25 countries pledged their support to GCF totaling USD 9.3 billion. Total pledges now stand at a record USD 12.8 billion from 31 countries with further contributions expected.

Mafalda Duarte, Executive Director said: “This is a new era for the Green Climate Fund and the investments we need for a future we all deserve. Our record USD 12.8 billion replenishment means the world's most vulnerable communities and our partners, including the private sector, have an even stronger ally for ambitious climate action that mobilises innovative partnerships, speeds up reforms to deliver finance quickly and efficiently, and supports transformation where it's needed most."

The amount pledged so far in this funding cycle exceeds the USD 10 billion for the first replenishment period (GCF-1). This new funding will enable GCF to channel new, predictable financial resources to developing countries over the next four-year programming cycle (2024-2027) to tackle the impacts of climate change and protect the most vulnerable communities.

The need for ambitious action on climate is clear and in 2024 we must collectively unlock further finance – the true enabler of climate action. Countries are raising their ambitions to deliver climate finance to developing countries – but we can do more.

The pledges made to the Green Climate Fund at COP28 were: Australia – AUD 50 million; Estonia – EUR 1 million; Italy – EUR 300 million; Portugal – EUR 4 million; Switzerland – CHF 135 million; United States of America – USD 3 billion.

Notes to Editors:

• The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is the world’s largest dedicated climate fund. GCF’s mandate is to foster a paradigm shift towards low emission, climate-resilient development pathways in developing countries.
• GCF has a portfolio of USD 13.5 billion (USD 51.9 billion including co-financing) delivering transformative climate action in more than 120 countries.
• It also has a readiness support programme that builds capacity and helps countries develop long-term plans to fight climate change. GCF is an operating entity of the financial mechanism of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and serves the 2015 Paris Agreement, supporting the goal of keeping average global temperature rise well below 2°C.
• The full list of GCF contributor countries and their pledged amounts can be found here.