$1.225B in climate finance approved—the largest single-meeting allocation in GCF’s history—supporting 17 new projects in vulnerable developing countries.
Major accreditation reforms adopted to accelerate approval timelines, enhance transparency, and expand access for national and regional partners.
Global expansion underway, with GCF inviting bids to host regional offices and strengthening staff regulations to support growth.
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board has approved a historic $1.225 billion in funding at its 42nd meeting, marking the largest amount ever allocated during a single session. The funds will support 17 new climate adaptation and mitigation projects across developing countries, expanding GCF’s global portfolio to 314 projects totaling $18 billion in direct GCF investment—and $67 billion when including co-financing.
The newly approved projects include the first single-country GCF initiatives in Mauritania, Saint Lucia, and Papua New Guinea, channeling urgently needed climate finance to vulnerable states. Many of the projects target Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and African States.
The package also includes efforts to catalyze private capital, such as a $227 million equity investment in the Global Green Bonds Initiative aimed at growing green bond markets in sub-Saharan Africa, and a $200 million investment to advance green finance in India.
Hosted by the Government of Papua New Guinea, the meeting was the second ever to take place in the Pacific region. During the session, the Board endorsed transformative changes to its accreditation system to expand and diversify the Fund’s partnerships.
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“This has been a very successful Board meeting with a record amount of funding and the adoption of some major reforms to make GCF more efficient and effective,” said Co-Chair Leif Holmberg of Sweden. “I am delighted that the Board has approved comprehensive reforms to its accreditation framework—the largest policy package ever brought to the Board—which will speed up accreditation whilst maintaining accountability, allowing us to further grow our network of partners, particularly direct access entities.”
The updated accreditation framework introduces a nine-month service standard for reviewing new applications and aims to improve accountability and inclusivity, particularly for regional and national Direct Access Entities. Eight new organisations were accredited at the meeting—seven of which are Direct Access Entities—bringing the total number of partners to over 150, spanning public, private, and non-profit sectors.
In a significant step toward decentralization, the Board also launched a call for proposals to establish GCF regional offices and a global outpost. A formal selection process—with defined criteria and timelines—will be managed by the GCF Secretariat, with final decisions made by the Board.
Additionally, the Board approved new Staff Regulations designed to attract and retain the expert talent required to execute the Fund’s rapidly expanding mandate.
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