Improving Access to the Green Climate Fund: How the Fund Can Better Support Developing Country Institutions

The paper examines the GCF's 'direct access' mechanism, which allows accredited institutions in developing countries to receive funding without international intermediaries. Despite accrediting 62 such entities, 42 have not received project funding. The report evaluates four specific support initiatives—the Readiness Programme, Project Preparation Facility, Simplified Approval Process, and Enhancing Direct Access Pilot—finding that while they provide vital assistance, they are hampered by cumbersome processes, insufficient cost coverage, and low project approval rates.

• A significant gap exists between accreditation and funding for developing country institutions; of the 62 Direct Access Entities accredited since 2015, 42 (67%) have not yet received project approval.
• The Readiness Programme is limited by its focus on Nationally Designated Authorities, a cumbersome approval process, and an inability to cover essential costs like staff time.
• The Project Preparation Facility fails to fully cover the costs of developing concept notes and does not sufficiently reach entities that lack a history of GCF-approved projects.
• The Simplified Approval Process, intended for projects under $50 million with low social and environmental risks, has not yet reduced the burden or speed of access compared to the full proposal process.
• The Enhancing Direct Access Pilot has underperformed, with only two projects approved in its first five years, although the concept of devolving decision-making remains popular.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Improving Access to the Green Climate Fund: How the Fund Can Better Support Developing Country Institutions. https://www.wri.org/research/improving-access-green-climate-fund-how-fund-can-better-support-developing-country

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Improving Access to the Green Climate Fund: How the Fund Can Better Support Developing Country Institutions. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/improving-access-green-climate-fund-how-fund-can-better-support-developing-country.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Improving Access to the Green Climate Fund: How the Fund Can Better Support Developing Country Institutions |url=https://www.wri.org/research/improving-access-green-climate-fund-how-fund-can-better-support-developing-country |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendimproving, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Improving Access to the Green Climate Fund: How the Fund Can Better Support Developing Country Institutions}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/improving-access-green-climate-fund-how-fund-can-better-support-developing-country}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }