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.
Featured publications
Country platforms for climate finance
This brochure describes GCF’s approach to country platforms, including an overview of the concept, the potential impact and the end-to-end support GCF can provide.
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Locally Led Climate Action
The Green Climate Fund is committed to ensuring climate finance reaches the most vulnerable and to scaling up direct access through Locally Led Climate Action (LLCA).
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Country platforms for climate finance
May 2025
This brochure describes GCF’s approach to country platforms, including an overview of the concept, the potential impact and the end-to-end support GCF can provide. In particular, it explains how the Readiness Programme can be used to support the establishment of country or regional platforms, and gives case studies from two countries.
GCF Water Project Design Guidelines - Part 2
May 2025
GCF Water Project Design Guidelines Part 2: Applications of the practical guidelines for designing water-climate resilient projects in IWRM, CR-WASH, and drought and flood management The GCF Water Project Design Guidelines provide a structured and programmatic approach to developing climate-resilient water projects. For water security projects for climate resilience, GCF uses innovative financing mechanisms to cover key domains such as water conservation, efficiency and reuse, hydrological...
GCF Water Project Design Guidelines - Part 1
May 2025
GCF Water Project Design Guidelines Part 1: Practical guidelines for designing water-climate resilient projects The GCF Water Project Design Guidelines provide a structured and programmatic approach to developing climate-resilient water projects. For water security projects for climate resilience, GCF uses innovative financing mechanisms to cover key domains such as water conservation, efficiency and reuse, hydrological observation, early warning and risk assessment, integrated water...
GCF Water Project Design Guidelines - Part 3
May 2025
GCF Water Project Design Guidelines Part 3: Practical guidelines for designing climate-resilient sanitation projects The GCF Water Project Design Guidelines provide a structured and programmatic approach to developing climate-resilient water projects. For water security projects for climate resilience, GCF uses innovative financing mechanisms to cover key domains such as water conservation, efficiency and reuse, hydrological observation, early warning and risk assessment, integrated water...
Locally Led Climate Action
April 2025
The Green Climate Fund is committed to ensuring climate finance reaches the most vulnerable and to scaling up direct access through Locally Led Climate Action (LLCA). LLCA enhances country ownership by grounding decisions in lived realities and empowering local actors to deliver sustainable, inclusive and context-specific climate solutions. This factsheet provides an overview of GCF's approach to Locally Led Climate Action and presents approved project examples that meaningfully engage local...
Evaluation of the outcomes and impact-level results of the Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme
March 2025
The Evaluation of the Outcomes and Impact-level Results of the Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme (RPSP or Readiness Programme) is the first Secretariat-led evaluation, guided by the GCF Evaluation Policy. It assesses the outcomes and impact-level results of the RPSP, with a focus on relevance, effectiveness, coherence, impact, and sustainability. It provides actionable recommendations to enhance the effectiveness and operationalization of the RPSP aligned with the new Readiness...
Climate investment planning and mobilization framework
March 2025
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the NDC Partnership proudly launched the Climate Investment Planning and Mobilization Framework (Framework) to support countries in achieving national climate action. It aims to provide a common reference point for countries and providers of climate finance and capacity support to navigate the steps involved in moving from planning and setting climate commitments (e.g., NDCs, NAPs, LT-LEDS) to identifying, prioritising and mobilising finance for the...
Debt for climate swaps: exploring avenues and opportunities
September 2024
The intersection of escalating public debt and the deepening climate crisis presents a dual challenge of paramount significance, particularly in Lower-Income Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States. Debt-for-Climate Swaps (DFCS) are an agreement between a sovereign and its creditors that reallocates a portion of ongoing debt obligations toward investments in climate action. Such transactions provide opportunities for countries to enhance both fiscal stability and climate...
Annual Report 2023
September 2024
2023 was a pivotal year for the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which saw several milestones: the culmination of its 2020-2023 programming period with a maturing portfolio of USD 13.5 billion invested in 243 projects across 129 developing countries; a record-breaking replenishment of USD 12.8 billion for its next programming period; and new leadership ushering in a new chapter for the Fund. 2023 was a pivotal year for the planet, the hottest on record, with heatwaves, floods, droughts, and...
How to financially incentivise well-designed climate projects
April 2024
The global development finance market has existed for decades, supported by globally accepted standards on project development and commensurate financial solutions. With climate change, there has been a focus on emissions reduction, bringing about a shift in project structuring and financing that consists of minor adjustments in the approach. These include emission-reduction protocols and calculations associated with financial incentives for clean-energy solutions. Since the devastating...
Programming guidelines for the Simplified Approval Process
December 2023
The SAP Programming Guideline, a vital element of our extensive GCF documentation suite, equips stakeholders with essential insights into the SAP's key objectives, policies, and a range of tools. Grounded in the GCF Investment Framework, the guideline delineates the Investment Criteria and the Fund's impact goals. It aids project developers in determining whether the SAP is their optimal funding avenue, guiding them through the nuances of proposal preparation and providing detailed steps for...
Reporting guidelines for the Simplified Approval Process (SAP)
December 2023
This guideline document responds to decision B.32/05 made by the GCF Board to develop guidance and templates for the Accredited Entities (AEs) on building a results-based monitoring and reporting system, based on the GCF integrated results management framework to simplify the annual performance report requirements and templates and accelerate disbursements. In particular, the primary aim of this guideline is to assist AEs in accurately and efficiently completing the SAP Annual Performance...
GCF Strategic Plan 2024-2027 overview
December 2023
Through decision B.36/13 the GCF Board adopted GCF’s Strategic Plan 2024-2027, setting out GCF’s major programming directions for GCF-2, capturing the ambition to deliver both strengthened climate results and greater access for developing countries as the world heads into a critical decade for global climate action. The Strategic Plan for 2024-2027 articulates how GCF will significantly enhance its support to developing countries, improve access, and strive to deliver the highest levels of...
GCF-SAP CREWS Scaling-up Framework for early warning
December 2023
The Scaling-up Framework was the result of a collaborative effort to develop scale-up financing modalities for early warning systems (EWS). It follows decisions, in 2022, by the Boards of both the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems (CREWS). The intention of the scaling-up Framework is to fast-track access to the GCF finance through its Simplified Approval Process (SAP) for countries with ongoing or recently completed CREWS projects. This Framework is...
Previous Readiness Result Management Framework
November 2023
The Readiness Result Management Framework (RRMF) is the primary tool to guide Readiness results-based interventions, and through which GCF tracks and measures the results of the Readiness Programme in a consistent and coherent manner. The purpose of the RRMF Results handbook is to provide targeted users, National Designated Authorities, Delivery Partners and the GCF Secretariat, with guidance on the application of GCF’s RRMF as well as to assist in undertaking their respective roles and...
Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (SEAH) risk assessment guideline
June 2023
This tool is a guide to help the Secretariat, AEs and executing entities (EEs) understand SEAH and be able to assess the SEAH risks related to proposed projects in order to predict, mitigate and ideally prevent SEAH from occurring. The tool applies to all GCF-financed activities and to both public and private sector entities. It may be updated by GCF periodically, as required, in order to further incorporate good practice and lessons learned, and to mirror the evolution of GCF’s ESS standards.
GCF-1 Progress Report
May 2023
Over the past four years, in the face of COVID-19, political and economic crises, the need for urgent climate action has become ever clearer. The GCF-1 Progress Report, available in both web and pdf versions, highlights the extensive progress made by GCF in delivering high-impact climate finance during the 2020-2023 period (referred to as ‘GCF-1’), ahead of its replenishment for the next four years. The GCF-1 Progress Report records the significant expansion of the Fund during this period,...
GCF: Catalysing finance for climate solutions
April 2023
The window to address the climate crisis is rapidly shrinking. Floods, droughts, heatwaves, extreme storms, and wildfires are breaking records with alarming frequency around the world. Failure to limit global warming to the Paris Agreement targets will result in even more devastating consequences for people and planet, with vulnerable populations suffering the most. Ambitious action is urgently needed both to reduce emissions and to adapt to the changing climate in developing countries. A...
Making blended finance work for nature-based solutions
March 2023
There is global recognition that biodiversity loss is just as urgent as the climate crisis and that they are intimately linked. One effective solution is to use nature-based solutions which can address the climate crisis, land degradation and biodiversity loss, as well as contribute to addressing a variety of social issues, such as water scarcity management and poverty alleviation. Nature-based solutions have enormous potential, however they are greatly underfunded. Thus, there is an urgent...
SAP Technical Guidelines: Ecosystems and ecosystem services
February 2023
The publication provides technical guidance for the preparation of SAP proposals. The thematic area of ecosystems and ecosystem services encompasses all natural environments and the productive uses that are based on them. This can range from environments not directly impacted by human activities – for example, remote rainforests, alpine regions or coral reefs – to environments that are intensively managed – such as agricultural areas or managed forests for timber production. Given that there...