Bridging the gap: finance for energy access in the Green Climate Fund

This briefing paper by the Stockholm Environment Institute analyzes the Green Climate Fund's (GCF) allocation of energy finance between 2015 and July 2018. It finds that the GCF significantly underfunds energy access projects compared to large-scale renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, and that funding largely bypasses 'high-impact' countries and low-income nations most in need of energy access.

• Energy access interventions are significantly underfunded within the Green Climate Fund compared to other energy projects. Of the total US$2.4 billion in GCF energy interventions, energy access received only US$352 million, representing 14% of energy funds and 9% of the total project portfolio.
• The GCF's energy funding largely neglects 'high-impact' countries—those with the greatest electricity and clean cooking access deficits—as well as low-income countries. High-impact countries were allocated US$369 million, which is 15% of the GCF's energy intervention dollars and only 0.6% of the annual funding required to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal for universal energy access.
• GCF energy funding is concentrated in middle- and high-income countries, prioritizing greenhouse gas mitigation over energy access. Renewable energy generation (US$1.17 billion) and energy efficiency (US$885 million) received the vast majority of funds, often targeting developed power sectors in wealthier nations.

APA

Dorman, D., & Ciplet, D. (2020). Bridging the gap: finance for energy access in the Green Climate Fund. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/sei-report-green-finance-dorman-2003c.pdf

Chicago

Dorman, Diana, and David Ciplet. Bridging the gap: finance for energy access in the Green Climate Fund. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2020. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/sei-report-green-finance-dorman-2003c.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Dorman |first1=Diana |last2=Ciplet |first2=David |title=Bridging the gap: finance for energy access in the Green Climate Fund |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=April 2020 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/sei-report-green-finance-dorman-2003c.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dorman2020bridging, author = {Dorman, Diana and Ciplet, David}, title = {{Bridging the gap: finance for energy access in the Green Climate Fund}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2020}, month = apr, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/sei-report-green-finance-dorman-2003c.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }