Data & resources
Publications
The Green Climate Fund issues a range of publications for our direct and indirect stakeholders on a diversity of issues – for the general public to industry experts. Stay in tune with our mission and activities around the planet with the issues that speak to you.
Featured publications
Annual Report 2023
2023 was a pivotal year for the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which saw several milestones: the culmination of its 2020-2023 programming period with a maturing portfolio of USD 13.5 billion invested in 243 projects across 129 developing countries; a
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Debt for climate swaps: exploring avenues and opportunities
The intersection of escalating public debt and the deepening climate crisis presents a dual challenge of paramount significance, particularly in Lower-Income Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States.
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GCF at a glance: Performance metrics
This publication provides a detailed breakdown of performance metrics that show GCF’s operational progress as we seek to deliver climate finance more quickly and with greater impact.
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GCF: Catalysing finance for climate solutions
The window to address the climate crisis is rapidly shrinking. Floods, droughts, heatwaves, extreme storms, and wildfires are breaking records with alarming frequency around the world.
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GCF at a glance
This publication is a useful reference of GCF's portfolio, providing an overview of GCF's projects and programmes, geographic distribution, and breakdowns of GCF funding.
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Debt for climate swaps: exploring avenues and opportunities
September 2024
The intersection of escalating public debt and the deepening climate crisis presents a dual challenge of paramount significance, particularly in Lower-Income Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States. Debt-for-Climate Swaps (DFCS) are an agreement between a sovereign and its creditors that reallocates a portion of ongoing debt obligations toward investments in climate action. Such transactions provide opportunities for countries to enhance both fiscal stability and climate...
Annual Report 2023
September 2024
2023 was a pivotal year for the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which saw several milestones: the culmination of its 2020-2023 programming period with a maturing portfolio of USD 13.5 billion invested in 243 projects across 129 developing countries; a record-breaking replenishment of USD 12.8 billion for its next programming period; and new leadership ushering in a new chapter for the Fund. 2023 was a pivotal year for the planet, the hottest on record, with heatwaves, floods, droughts, and...
How to financially incentivise well-designed climate projects
April 2024
The global development finance market has existed for decades, supported by globally accepted standards on project development and commensurate financial solutions. With climate change, there has been a focus on emissions reduction, bringing about a shift in project structuring and financing that consists of minor adjustments in the approach. These include emission-reduction protocols and calculations associated with financial incentives for clean-energy solutions. Since the devastating...
Programming guidelines for the Simplified Approval Process
December 2023
The SAP Programming Guideline, a vital element of our extensive GCF documentation suite, equips stakeholders with essential insights into the SAP's key objectives, policies, and a range of tools. Grounded in the GCF Investment Framework, the guideline delineates the Investment Criteria and the Fund's impact goals. It aids project developers in determining whether the SAP is their optimal funding avenue, guiding them through the nuances of proposal preparation and providing detailed steps for...
Reporting guidelines for the Simplified Approval Process (SAP)
December 2023
This guideline document responds to decision B.32/05 made by the GCF Board to develop guidance and templates for the Accredited Entities (AEs) on building a results-based monitoring and reporting system, based on the GCF integrated results management framework to simplify the annual performance report requirements and templates and accelerate disbursements. In particular, the primary aim of this guideline is to assist AEs in accurately and efficiently completing the SAP Annual Performance...
GCF Strategic Plan 2024-2027 overview
December 2023
Through decision B.36/13 the GCF Board adopted GCF’s Strategic Plan 2024-2027, setting out GCF’s major programming directions for GCF-2, capturing the ambition to deliver both strengthened climate results and greater access for developing countries as the world heads into a critical decade for global climate action. The Strategic Plan for 2024-2027 articulates how GCF will significantly enhance its support to developing countries, improve access, and strive to deliver the highest levels of...
GCF-SAP CREWS Scaling-up Framework for early warning
December 2023
The Scaling-up Framework was the result of a collaborative effort to develop scale-up financing modalities for early warning systems (EWS). It follows decisions, in 2022, by the Boards of both the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems (CREWS). The intention of the scaling-up Framework is to fast-track access to the GCF finance through its Simplified Approval Process (SAP) for countries with ongoing or recently completed CREWS projects. This Framework is...
Readiness Result Management Framework: Results handbook
November 2023
The Readiness Result Management Framework (RRMF) is the primary tool to guide Readiness results-based interventions, and through which GCF tracks and measures the results of the Readiness Programme in a consistent and coherent manner. The purpose of the RRMF Results handbook is to provide targeted users, National Designated Authorities, Delivery Partners and the GCF Secretariat, with guidance on the application of GCF’s RRMF as well as to assist in undertaking their respective roles and...
Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (SEAH) risk assessment guideline
June 2023
This tool is a guide to help the Secretariat, AEs and executing entities (EEs) understand SEAH and be able to assess the SEAH risks related to proposed projects in order to predict, mitigate and ideally prevent SEAH from occurring. The tool applies to all GCF-financed activities and to both public and private sector entities. It may be updated by GCF periodically, as required, in order to further incorporate good practice and lessons learned, and to mirror the evolution of GCF’s ESS standards.
GCF-1 Progress Report
May 2023
Over the past four years, in the face of COVID-19, political and economic crises, the need for urgent climate action has become ever clearer. The GCF-1 Progress Report, available in both web and pdf versions, highlights the extensive progress made by GCF in delivering high-impact climate finance during the 2020-2023 period (referred to as ‘GCF-1’), ahead of its replenishment for the next four years. The GCF-1 Progress Report records the significant expansion of the Fund during this period,...
GCF: Catalysing finance for climate solutions
April 2023
The window to address the climate crisis is rapidly shrinking. Floods, droughts, heatwaves, extreme storms, and wildfires are breaking records with alarming frequency around the world. Failure to limit global warming to the Paris Agreement targets will result in even more devastating consequences for people and planet, with vulnerable populations suffering the most. Ambitious action is urgently needed both to reduce emissions and to adapt to the changing climate in developing countries. A...
Making blended finance work for nature-based solutions
March 2023
There is global recognition that biodiversity loss is just as urgent as the climate crisis and that they are intimately linked. One effective solution is to use nature-based solutions which can address the climate crisis, land degradation and biodiversity loss, as well as contribute to addressing a variety of social issues, such as water scarcity management and poverty alleviation. Nature-based solutions have enormous potential, however they are greatly underfunded. Thus, there is an urgent...
SAP Technical Guidelines: Ecosystems and ecosystem services
February 2023
The publication provides technical guidance for the preparation of SAP proposals. The thematic area of ecosystems and ecosystem services encompasses all natural environments and the productive uses that are based on them. This can range from environments not directly impacted by human activities – for example, remote rainforests, alpine regions or coral reefs – to environments that are intensively managed – such as agricultural areas or managed forests for timber production. Given that there...
SAP Technical Guidelines: Transport
February 2023
The publication provides technical guidance for the preparation of SAP proposals. Although there is no one standard definition of the transport sector, it can be described as including all kinds of transportation, such as road, rail and maritime transport, and aviation. Please note that the English document is currently the most up to date version of the technical guideline. The French and Spanish translations are being reviewed and will be soon available for download.
SAP Technical Guidelines: Cities and climate change
February 2023
Traditionally, cities are defined as large human settlements, with no one standardized definition applied internationally. Frequently, national governments have criteria they use to define urban areas. These criteria can vary to include aspects such as administrative boundaries, living conditions or population density. Another approach is what is termed “urban agglomeration”, which considers the extent of an urban area, or sometimes, that of a built-up area, to identify a city’s boundaries....
SAP Technical Guidelines: Forests and land use
February 2023
This publication provides technical guidance for the preparation of SAP proposals. The thematic area of forest and land use encompasses forests and other multiple land-cover types where forests are a prominent component of the landscape. This can range from natural forests, where ecosystems are not directly impacted by human activities (e.g. primary forests) to more intensively transformed landscapes – such as secondary growth forests, degraded forest landscapes, agroforestry systems and trees...
SAP Technical Guidelines: REDD+
February 2023
This guidance has been developed to support GCF accredited entities (AEs) and national designated authorities (NDAs) in their preparation of concept notes and funding proposals under the simplified approval process for REDD+ (REDD+ SAP). Please note that the English document is currently the most up to date version of the technical guideline. The French and Spanish translations are being reviewed and will be soon available for download.
SAP Technical Guidelines: Energy efficiency for industry and appliances
February 2023
This publication provides technical guidance for the preparation of SAP proposals. Energy efficiency (EE) is the process of reducing the energy consumption of infrastructure, facilities, machines, devices, products, services, business processes, activities and transport. It can be thought of as the first fuel of a sustainable world and as such it has a key role in ensuring cost-effective energy transitions. Please note that the English document is currently the most up to date version of the...
SAP Technical Guidelines: Renewable energy
February 2023
This publication provides technical guidance for the preparation of SAP proposals. Renewable energy (RE) is produced using natural resources that are constantly replaced within the human timescale. Just as there are many natural sources of energy, there are many technologies that can help to harness RE sources. Solar photovoltaic (PV) is the most well- known, wind power is the most widespread and hydropower is one of the oldest. Other RE technologies harness geothermal energy, solid waste or...
SAP Technical Guidelines: Water security
February 2023
This publication provides technical guidance for the preparation of simplified approval process (SAP) proposals for water security projects. GCF defines the water sector as encompassing surface freshwater resources and groundwater, but not oceans. Since the water sector is interlinked with several other sectors, such as agriculture and ecosystems, it is necessary to delineate its scope. Thus, the emphasis in this technical guidance a is on four sub-sectors: Integrated water resources...