Data & resources
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
Annual Report 2023
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
Read moreDebt for climate swaps: exploring avenues and opportunities
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.
Read moreGCF at a glance: Performance metrics
This publication provides a detailed breakdown of performance metrics that show GCF’s operational progress as we seek to deliver climate finance more quickly and with greater impact.
Read moreGCF: Catalysing finance for climate solutions
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.
Read moreGCF at a glance
This publication is a useful reference of GCF's portfolio, providing an overview of GCF's projects and programmes, geographic distribution, and breakdowns of GCF funding.
Read moreGCF Appraisal Guidance: A comprehensive guide to the tools and due diligence processes used to review and assess concept notes and funding proposals
June 2022
The GCF Appraisal Guidance sets out the due diligence processes that are employed in the preparation of Concept Notes and Funding Proposals for presentation to the GCF Board. The Guidance document, together with associated annexes, presents the tools and materials that are available for use by the GCF Secretariat and Accredited Entities, to facilitate the delivery of proposals aligned with GCF’s mandate, policies and Investment Framework. The Appraisal Guidance supplements the GCF Programming...
Draft results handbook
May 2022
Targeting accredited entities and executing entities as its primary audiences, the GCF’s results handbook aims to provide practical guidance on how to apply the IRMF for GCF-funded projects/programmes through funding proposal development, planning, monitoring, and reporting activities, as well as interim and final evaluations. The handbook defines each IRMF indicator and its measurement approaches with tools and reporting formats where applicable. As per the Board decision on the IRMF (...
Sectoral guide: Energy access and power generation
May 2022
The energy sector is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions due to the world’s reliance on fossil fuels (around two thirds of global emissions are from the energy sector). At the same time, hundreds of millions of people still lack access to electricity, and a third of the world’s population lack access to clean energy sources for cooking. To limit global temperature increases to 1.5°C as well as meet the sustainable development goals, the energy sector must undergo a...
GCF handbook: Decisions, policies and frameworks (updated March 2022)
March 2022
The purpose of the “GCF Handbook” is to make it easier for users to more easily navigate the GCF’s decisions and policies. To facilitate this, each primary Board decision and related policy framework has been given a descriptive title, and placed within one of ten issue oriented chapters. There, the decisions and related frameworks have been further divided by sub-issue with the most recent action on any topic listed first. The decisions and related frameworks that are particularly policy rich...
Sectoral guide: Ecosystems and ecosystem services
February 2022
The GCF recognizes the importance of the climate-nature nexus; and has given nature a high profile by including ecosystems and ecosystem services as one of the eight results areas of the fund, and by approving more than 1 billion dollars in projects and programmes related to conserving, restoring and sustainably managing ecosystems to enhance the adaptation and mitigation impact potential. Ecosystems play key roles in our efforts to address climate change and they are essential for climate-...
Sectoral guide: Forests and land use
February 2022
This sectoral guide provides guidance for forests and land use (FLU). As such, it is complementary to other sectoral guides, including the Sectoral Guide on Ecosystems and Ecosystem Services and the Sectoral Guide on Agriculture. Forest protection, conservation, and sustainable land management are central components of the Paris Agreement. Limiting global warming levels to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels is not possible without protecting, restoring, and sustainably managing forests and land...
Enhancing Direct Access Guidelines
November 2021
The Green Climate Fund (GCF), Enhancing Direct Access (EDA) pilot intends to boost access by sub-national, national and regional, public, and private entities to GCF climate finance. EDA promotes country ownership of projects and programmes and devolves decision-making to local actors. This publication provides non-prescriptive guidance about how to structure an EDA Pilot intervention. It is primarily intended to support GCF Direct Access Entities (DAEs), National Designated Authorities and...
SAP Compendium
September 2021
A key element that drives the simplification of the preparation of a SAP proposal is the clarity, at the onset, of what are the activities that can be eligible for the GCF simplified approval. This is one of the main elements that this Compendium offers to all those involved in originating a SAP intervention. If you work in a GCF Accredited Entity, or if you are a GCF National Designated Authority or Focal Point, or a consultant involved in preparing a GCF SAP project, thisCompendium is ...
Sectoral guide: Agriculture and food security
September 2021
Agriculture is central to food and security, livelihoods, and economic development across the world but more importantly in developing countries. Being primarily based on rural production systems, the sector supports livelihoods of around 86% of the world’s rural population. Many of the world’s 500 million smallholder producers still live in poverty and face multiple challenges such as disruptions from climate change events, meeting increasing demand for food from growing populations, and...
Sectoral guide: Cities, buildings and urban systems
September 2021
With more than two thirds of the global population expected to reside in cities by the 2050, as explained by the United Nations, urbanization offers both unprecedented risks and opportunities with respect to the global response to climate change. The IPCC has concluded that cities and urban infrastructure are one of four critical global systems that are key to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and limiting long-term global warming levels to less than 1.5°C above pre-industrial...
Country programme guidance
January 2021
Green Climate Fund (GCF) Country Programmes are the cornerstone of each country’s pipeline development with GCF. It is the first stage of the updated GCF project and programme cycle, and forms the basis for prioritising the further development of funding proposals for projects and programmes submitted by Accredited Entities on behalf of countries for funding. Countries are encouraged to develop a GCF Country Programme to drive their project and programme pipelines with GCF, and countries may...
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 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...
Mainstreaming gender in Green Climate Fund projects
August 2017
This manual addresses GCF’s potential to mainstream gender into climate finance, building on its mandate to support a paradigm shift to low-emission and climate-resilient development. Developed with UN Women, this toolkit guides GCF partners on how to include women, girls, men, and boys from socially excluded and vulnerable communities in all aspects of climate finance. Gender mainstreaming is central to GCF’s objectives and guiding principles, including through engaging women and men of all...