5 Areas for Action to Set the Green Climate Fund on an Ambitious Path

This briefing by the World Resources Institute outlines five priority areas for the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board to address during its fifth meeting in Paris to ensure the fund can effectively mobilize and distribute finance for low-carbon, climate-resilient development in developing countries.

• The GCF must establish clear priority areas for funding and a framework to measure impact to ensure it transforms economies into low-carbon and climate-resilient ones, balancing global goals with the domestic needs of recipient countries.
• There is a significant gap between current financial commitments and the estimated needs of developing countries, which may require up to $565 billion annually by 2030 for mitigation and an additional $70-100 billion annually for adaptation to keep global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius.
• The GCF needs a predictable and ambitious process for receiving financial resources, starting with voluntary contributions in the short term and moving toward a systematic process that includes innovative ways to attract private sector finance.
• The fund should implement efficient and equitable distribution criteria for resources, specifically aiming to recalibrate the historical imbalance where climate finance has favored mitigation over adaptation.
• To deliver results, the GCF must partner with a diverse range of institutions—including civil society, SMEs, and banks—while supporting developing countries to strengthen their financial management systems and environmental and social safeguards.
• The GCF should utilize tailored financial instruments to remove barriers for public and private investors and target untapped sources of finance, such as pension funds in developing country markets.

APA

Doukas, A., Patel, M., Terpstra, P., & Venugopal, S. (2013). 5 Areas for Action to Set the Green Climate Fund on an Ambitious Path. World Resources Institute. https://www.wri.org/insights/5-areas-action-set-green-climate-fund-ambitious-path

Chicago

Doukas, Alex, Milap Patel, Pieter Terpstra, and Shally Venugopal. 5 Areas for Action to Set the Green Climate Fund on an Ambitious Path. World Resources Institute, 2013. https://www.wri.org/insights/5-areas-action-set-green-climate-fund-ambitious-path.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Doukas |first1=Alex |last2=Patel |first2=Milap |last3=Terpstra |first3=Pieter |last4=Venugopal |first4=Shally |title=5 Areas for Action to Set the Green Climate Fund on an Ambitious Path |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=6 October 2013 |url=https://www.wri.org/insights/5-areas-action-set-green-climate-fund-ambitious-path |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{doukas2013areas, author = {Doukas, Alex and Patel, Milap and Terpstra, Pieter and Venugopal, Shally}, title = {{5 Areas for Action to Set the Green Climate Fund on an Ambitious Path}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2013}, month = oct, url = {https://www.wri.org/insights/5-areas-action-set-green-climate-fund-ambitious-path}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }