Search Climate Insights Directory

The report presents a quantitative overview of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) pipeline, categorising 410 overall projects and their associated financial values. It breaks down data for funding proposals and concept notes by sector (public and private), geographic region, and thematic focus (adaptation, mitigation, and cross-cutting), while also detailing the financial instruments used and the impact potential of the funding proposal pipeline.

The document outlines a 24-month Readiness support project to operationalize direct access to climate finance in Fiji. It focuses on training NDA staff, supporting the MoE's Stage 2 GCF accreditation, assisting the FDB in upgrading its accreditation to ESS Category B, and developing a bankable project pipeline. Key activities include establishing a private sector engagement strategy, conducting pre-feasibility studies for projects such as the Fiji Electric Bus initiative, and enhancing the NDA Portal for better stakeholder coordination. The project is implemented by the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI).

The Project Preparation Facility (PPF) has disbursed and committed USD 32.8 million (82% of its USD 40 million allocation) to support the development of climate funding proposals. To date, PPF support has enabled 11 approved funding proposals totaling nearly USD 3.0 billion in investment. The Secretariat has reduced processing times by 84% through streamlined approvals and introduced simplified funding and service modalities to better support direct access entities (DAEs). To cover a pipeline of 28 active requests and anticipated new needs, the document requests an additional USD 18.0 million for the remainder of GCF-1.

The document outlines a 24-month readiness project for Mauritius, implemented by the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS). It aims to bridge the 'usability gap' where national experts struggle to translate scientific evidence into actionable climate interventions. The project focuses on creating a functional climate service network, developing data collection tools, and training stakeholders to integrate climate science into sectoral policies and GCF funding applications. Key target sectors include agriculture, water resources, and coastal zones. The proposal also emphasizes gender mainstreaming, aiming for 50% female representation in working groups and training, and includes a regional exchange visit to the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) in Samoa.

The GCF Board's 31st meeting resulted in the approval of two funding proposals totaling approximately USD 187.6 million, the adoption of an updated accreditation framework, and the re-accreditation of several entities. The Board discussed the Second Performance Review (SPR) and the need for a more effective private sector strategy and simplified approval processes for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

The GCF's private sector strategy aims to mobilize institutional finance and private capital for climate adaptation and mitigation in developing countries through a four-pronged approach: promoting conducive investment environments, accelerating innovation, de-risking market-creating investments, and strengthening domestic financial institutions. The report reviews the PSF's performance, noting a co-financing ratio of 3.25:1 and a heavy initial reliance on concessional loans. To meet its updated Strategic Plan targets, the GCF proposes expanding its use of equity and guarantees, improving the accreditation process via a project-specific assessment approach, and implementing a private sector outreach plan.

The report assesses the GCF's network of 113 accredited entities (AEs), evaluating their capacity to deliver on the Fund's strategic priorities. While the network is diverse and expanding—particularly in private sector and direct access entities—significant gaps remain in the ability of direct access entities (DAEs) to manage high environmental and social (E&S) risk projects and large-scale adaptation programming. The analysis highlights a low AE-to-project ratio, which may disincentivize institutional capacity building, and notes that GCF's internal processing capacity is currently insufficient to meet the growing volume of new and re-accreditation applications.

The report synthesizes evidence from the GCF-1 period, finding that while the institution has established its functional architecture, it continues to struggle with slow accreditation processes, limited direct access for national entities, and poor quality in results measurement and reporting. It highlights a lack of a formal accreditation strategy and persistent policy gaps at the Board level. While the portfolio is growing, most projects are still in early implementation stages, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has compounded existing delays. The report identifies the need for a more strategic approach to paradigm shifts and the mobilization of private sector finance, noting that current results reporting lacks credibility due to inconsistent methodologies.

The document argues that colonial legacies continue to shape climate impacts and the way research is conducted, often disadvantaging the Global South. It proposes a framework for shifting power across three stages of the scientific process: project design, implementation, and dissemination. Key recommendations include adopting co-productive methodologies, ensuring equitable funding and hiring practices, practicing active reflexivity in the field, and diversifying publication channels to include regional and open-access journals. The authors emphasize that while individual researchers can take action, systemic change is required from institutions and funders to dismantle structural barriers.

The NAP Global Network's 2021-2022 progress report highlights its efforts to accelerate climate adaptation in the Global South through three main pillars: peer learning, technical assistance, and knowledge generation. Key achievements include the expansion of in-country support programs from two to nine, the launch of the NAP Trends platform, and the delivery of gender-responsive and monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) focused summits. The Network reports steady progress toward its 2025 strategy targets, including support for least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing states (SIDS), while emphasizing the critical transition from adaptation planning to implementation.

The Cook Islands, a Small Island Developing State highly vulnerable to climate change and economic shocks, utilized GCF readiness support to overcome capacity gaps. Between 2016 and 2019, the country received four grants totaling USD 1.9 million to strengthen its National Designated Authority (NDA), accredit the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management (MFEM) as a Direct Access Entity, and develop a national country programme. These efforts aimed to improve the country's ability to design and implement transformative climate projects and access larger funding streams.

The proposal seeks to address barriers to climate action in the Caribbean, including outdated policy frameworks and limited access to climate science. It aims to revise the Regional Framework's Implementation Plan, update the CARIWIG data portal, support the revision of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and develop four bankable project concept notes for the Green Climate Fund.

The document analyzes the 'innovation chain'—emergence, deployment, and widespread adoption—to explain why capital fails to flow to climate projects in developing countries. It details a strategy by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to overcome these barriers through policy support, piloting new technologies, de-risking investments via blended finance, and strengthening domestic financial institutions.

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) serves as the largest dedicated climate fund for developing countries, accounting for two-thirds of all multilateral climate finance last year. The GCF focuses on bridging the adaptation finance gap, where only one-fifth of global climate funds are currently allocated. To scale action, the GCF employs a strategy involving the translation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) into investment plans, piloting innovative technologies and business models, utilizing blended finance to crowd-in private investment, and strengthening the capacity of domestic financial institutions. Key initiatives include the Global Sub-national Climate Fund and partnerships to de-risk investments in adaptation technologies and coral reef protection.

The document examines the existential threats faced by small island developing states (SIDS), highlighting their extreme vulnerability to sea-level rise and economic shocks despite contributing less than 1% of global carbon emissions. It advocates for a transition from seeing themselves as 'small islands' to 'large ocean states' by leveraging their exclusive economic zones (EEZs) through the 'blue economy.' The brief emphasizes the need for innovative financing, such as blue bonds and debt-for-climate swaps, and the urgent transition to domestic renewable energy to reduce dependence on fossil fuel imports.

The NAP Global Network responds to an external evaluation of its 2015–2020 activities, committing to integrate findings into its 2021–2025 Strategy. Key commitments include revising its Theory of Change, expanding support to 30 new countries by 2025, and shifting focus from 'paper NAPs' toward the actual implementation of adaptation priorities. The Network also aims to enhance private sector engagement, vertical integration, and the alignment of NAP processes with the Paris Agreement's Global Stocktake and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

The GCF Board's 27th meeting resulted in the adoption of the Updated Strategic Plan (2020–2023), which sets goals for the first replenishment period (GCF-1), including a 50:50 balance between mitigation and adaptation funding. The Board approved 15 funding proposals, including several REDD-plus and Simplified Approval Process (SAP) projects, and accredited four new entities. The meeting also covered the 2021 administrative budget, work plans for independent units, and discussions on the Integrated Results Management Framework (IRMF) and the MOPAN assessment.

The Green Climate Fund's January 2021 pipeline consists of 459 projects with a total value of $81,138M, including GCF funding and co-financing. The pipeline is divided between the Public Sector (DMA) and Private Sector (PSF), with significant concentrations in Africa and the Asia-Pacific region. Projects are categorized by themes of adaptation, mitigation, and cross-cutting activities, with the majority of funding flowing through the Proposal Approval Process rather than the Simplified Approval Process. The report further segments these figures into 'Funding Proposals' and 'Concept Notes', providing granular data on financial instruments, impact potential, and specific allocations for Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and Africa.

The document outlines a request for USD 302,281.00 to enable the Tongan private sector, particularly MSMEs, to access climate finance. The program focuses on capacity building, identifying investment barriers, and developing a pipeline of bankable project concept notes. The Tonga Development Bank (TDB) serves as the Delivery Partner, aiming for GCF accreditation, while the Tonga Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI) acts as the executing entity. Key activities include creating a sensitization communication strategy, conducting barrier assessments, and facilitating south-south cooperation with Vanuatu.

The document outlines a 24-month readiness project to enhance the resilience of Trinidad and Tobago's health sector against climate-induced disasters. Key objectives include establishing an Incident Command System (ICS), developing an Event-Based Surveillance App for real-time disaster response, and conducting vulnerability assessments to design 'Climate SMART' healthcare facilities. The project also aims to train the healthcare workforce in disaster risk reduction and develop two high-quality project concept notes for submission to the Green Climate Fund (GCF).