Setting the Stage for the Green Climate Fund’s First Replenishment

This WRI working paper addresses a 'crisis of confidence' within the Green Climate Fund (GCF), proposing simultaneous reforms in resources and governance. It advocates for a formula-based framework to determine financial contributions based on metrics like GHG emissions and GNI, and suggests improving Board effectiveness through independent reviews, transparent member selection, and new decision-making procedures to prevent deadlocks.

• The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is experiencing a 'crisis of confidence' characterized by low trust among developed and developing countries, the private sector, accredited entities, and civil society. This is exemplified by the departure of its Executive Director and an unproductive Board meeting in July 2018.
• There is currently a lack of established criteria for determining the target amount for the GCF's first replenishment or how the financial burden should be distributed among contributors.
• To improve resource predictability, the paper proposes a transparent, objective framework for contributions using a formula-based scaled indicative minimum threshold. This formula could potentially incorporate GHG emissions per capita, cumulative GHG emissions, and gross national income.
• The GCF Board requires governance improvements to increase decision-making effectiveness, including the adoption of a procedure for when consensus cannot be reached and the ability to allow dissenting opinions without blocking critical decisions. The paper suggests a self-assessment by the board and an independent performance review.
• The GCF Board should improve its representative function for developed and developing country constituencies through more transparent member selection and better feedback processes. The GCF Secretariat is identified as a key entity to support these selection and feedback processes.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Setting the Stage for the Green Climate Fund’s First Replenishment. https://www.wri.org/research/setting-stage-green-climate-funds-first-replenishment

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Setting the Stage for the Green Climate Fund’s First Replenishment. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/setting-stage-green-climate-funds-first-replenishment.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Setting the Stage for the Green Climate Fund’s First Replenishment |url=https://www.wri.org/research/setting-stage-green-climate-funds-first-replenishment |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendsetting, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Setting the Stage for the Green Climate Fund’s First Replenishment}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/setting-stage-green-climate-funds-first-replenishment}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }