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
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Debt 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.
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GCF 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.
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GCF: 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.
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GCF 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.
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Thematic brief: Ecosystems & ecosystem services
May 2021
Ecosystems consist of plants, animal and microorganism communities (including for example, rainforests, coral reefs, agricultural land and managed forests), while ecosystem goods and services are the benefits to human society that ecosystems provide (for example, water provision and flood and storm protection). Ecosystem degradation and the impacts of climate change release the carbon that is stored in biomass and soils, and increase the risk of ecological collapse. Land-use change,...
Scaling up climate finance in the context of Covid-19: Full report
May 2021
This report aims to help financial decision-makers to align finance with sustainable development, accelerating the transition to a net-zero, climate resilient economy, based on the latest scientific findings and policy developments. It proposes four interventions to achieve this objective in the context of Covid-19.
Thematic brief: Renewable energy
April 2021
The energy sector is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions given the world’s reliance on fossil fuels. 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. According to the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), this means that renewable energy must supply 70 to 85 per cent of all electricity by 2050 for the world to meet the goals of the Paris...
GCF's digital agenda: a briefing
March 2021
In order to deliver on the GCF-1 ambitions, the Secretariat has prioritized becoming a fully digital organization. It has developed the GCF Digital Agenda: 2020 – 2023, which has four objectives: Increase operational efficiency to improve speed of delivery Enhance transparency and accountability Improve GCF’s capacity to actively identify and manage risks Reduce workload and create a safe, innovative and flexible workplace In order to achieve these objectives, the Digital Agenda has...
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...
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...
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.
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.
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...
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...
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...
Report on the progress of the Green Climate Fund during its initial resource mobilization period (January 2015 through March 2020)
April 2020
The Green Climate Fund is a unique institution. It is the manifestation of a joint global commitment to fight climate change and a crucial element of the Paris Agreement. Over the past five years, it has developed from an idea of solidarity between developed and developing countries to a crucial force in countering climate change and its effects. Over the past five years, GCF has committed over USD 5.6 billion of its own investment to support 129 projects in 108 countries and delivered more...
Synergies between climate finance mechanisms
April 2020
Collaboration between climate finance funds can enhance countries' resources and results. A report jointly commissioned by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) shows that country-driven coordination and collaboration between funds in blending finance can lead to better development outcomes, enhanced efficiency, and increased financing in developing countries. The study, "Synergies Between Climate Finance Mechanisms," is the result of a multilevel analysis of...
The Green Climate Fund’s Private Sector Facility
October 2019
GCF has a Private Sector Facility (PSF), with the primary mission to engage both the local and global private sector to support climate change mitigation and adaptation projects in developing countries. This brochure provides an overview of the PSF.
Raising ambition. Empowering action: Report on the progress of the Green Climate Fund during its initial resource mobilization period (January 2015 to July 2019)
October 2019
Since approving its first projects in 2015, GCF has grown and delivered. In these first four and a half years of operation, GCF has become the world’s largest dedicated climate fund, equally committed to supporting countries in adapting to climate change and to driving the transformation to low-emission economies. This report covers the results of the work of the GCF and its partners, showing how our resources are already transforming lives and driving a paradigm shift. With this solid track...