Publications & documents
Publications
The Green Climate Fund issues a range of publications for our direct and indirect stakeholders on a diversity of issues – for the general public to industry experts. Stay in tune with our mission and activities around the planet with the issues that speak to you.
Tipping or turning point: Scaling up climate finance in the era of COVID-19
October 2020
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought the world to a tipping point or a turning point in the fight against climate change. Decisions taken by leaders today to revive economies will either entrench our dependence on fossil fuels or put us on a path to achieve the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For the COVID-19 pandemic to prove a turning point, climate action and COVID-19 economic stimulus measures must be mutually supportive; and developing countries must be able to...
GCF in Brief: Private sector financing
November 2020
GCF promotes private sector investment through concessional instruments, including low-interest and long-tenor project loans, lines of credit to banks and other financial institutions, equity investments and risk mitigators, such as guarantees, first-loss protection, and grant-based capacity-building programmes. Learn more about GCF's private sector financing through this factsheet.
Thematic Brief: Adaptation
November 2020
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is committed to investing in developing countries’ efforts to adapt to the effects of climate change. GCF is delivering on our targets for adaptation and resilience by ensuring a 50/50 balance in allocation of funding between mitigation and adaptation projects, with over 50% of adaptation funding going to Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) and African States. The Fund is uniquely placed to attract private investment by de-...
GCF in Brief: The Green Climate Fund: Realising the Climate Potential of Public Development Banks
November 2020
The Green Climate Fund is working to realise the potential of Public Development Banks to finance the green and climate-resilient transition. Ahead of the first ever gathering of 450+ public development banks for the Financing in Common Summit from 9-11 November, this factsheet sets out how GCF is partnering with PDBs around the world to drive the financial transition that the world needs to reach its climate goals.
The Green Climate Fund and the International Development Finance Club: A strategic alliance to realize the full potential of public development banks in financing the green and climate-resilient transition
November 2020
In the current pandemic we are facing, Public Development Banks are repositioning their role in driving climate ambition and building momentum in the lead up to COP 26. The IDFC, a group of 26 national and regional PDBs worldwide committed to aligning their activities with the Paris agreement, and GCF, set up by the UN to help developing countries combat climate change, have formed a strategic alliance to help PDBs finance a green and climate resilient transition. This joint working paper...
SAP Technical Guidelines: Water Security
October 2020
This publication provides technical guidance for the preparation of simplified approval process (SAP) proposals for water security projects. GCF defines the water sector as encompassing surface freshwater resources and groundwater, but not oceans. Since the water sector is interlinked with several other sectors, such as agriculture and ecosystems, it is necessary to delineate its scope. Thus, the emphasis in this technical guidance a is on four sub-sectors: Integrated water resources...
Project Preparation Facility Guidelines
October 2020
GCF's Project Preparation Facility (PPF) provides financial support to Accredited Entities (AE) in preparing funding proposals for submission to the Green Climate Fund (GCF). The PPF supports AEs in preparing full Funding Proposals for consideration by the Board, based on a Concept Note that has been cleared for project preparation support vis-àvis GCF investment criteria. This publication provides practical guidelines to help AEs in preparing and submitting PPF requests to the GCF secretariat.
GCF in Brief: Adaptation Planning
September 2020
The Green Climate Fund is committed to investing in developing countries’ efforts to adapt to the effects of climate change. GCF aims to deliver a 50:50 balance between mitigation and adaptation allocations in its portfolio, and ensure that at least 50% of adaptation funding goes to particularly vulnerable countries, including LDCs, SIDS and African States. This factsheet provides an overview of how GCF supports adaptation planning in the countries where it operates.
Enhancing access to climate finance through readiness support
September 2020
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) are capitalising on their shared ability to help developing countries take climate action. Nowhere is this clearer than in GGGI’s role as a major delivery partner of grant funds from GCF’s Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme (the Readiness Programme) – designed to widen the scope of climate-focused financial resources for developing countries. GCF’s Readiness Programme is particularly well suited to help bolster...
The Espejo de Tarapacá project: at a glance
July 2020
Chile is striving to transition from its current dependence on fossil fuels to a low-emission, climate-resilient economy, and expand its population’s access to sustainable energy - as well as potable water. Chile’s goal is for renewables to account for 70 per cent of the country’s power needs by 2050. Its current electricity grid consists of unpredictable hydropower and high-emission sources that contribute to climate change. The current lack of clean, reliable energy and water security...
Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund: at a glance
July 2020
While the private sector plays an increasingly important role in renewable energy markets, there is a dearth of business support for climate adaptation, especially for smallholder farmers who bear the brunt of global warming. The innovative Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF) project draws in private sector investment to help small- scale farmers adapt, made possible by GCF’s anchor investment. This case study for FP078: Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund provides an overview of the...
Bhutan for life: at a glance
July 2020
GCF joined the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Royal Government of Bhutan and other partners to create the Bhutan for Life project, which was approved in 2017. At the heart of this conservation effort is an innovative financial structure to permanently protect Bhutan’s network of Protected Areas. This case study for FP050: Bhutan for Life provides an overview of the project, expected results and impacts, as well as GCF's unique and innovative role.
GCF Programming Manual: an introduction to the Green Climate Fund project cycle and project development tools for full-size projects
July 2020
The GCF Programming Manual provides an overview of the GCF project/programme approval process, as adopted by the Board, to its stakeholders, including national designated authorities and accredited entities. It also offers guidance on how to prepare and submit a funding proposal that meets GCF investment criteria. The Programming Manual aims to make project origination, development, appraisal, approval and implementation processes more transparent and predictable, as well as to simplify the...