Launched in 2014, the Green Climate Fund offers an ambitious platform for contributions and investments in climate mitigation and adaptation in the developing world. WRI worked with the GCF secretariat and Board and a large number of partners and stakeholders to help shape the Fund's structure.

The Challenge

Providing finance to support developing countries’ efforts to respond to a changing climate is a key challenge of the 21st century. To meet this challenge, it is essential to find new ways to raise funds and invest in projects that curb emissions and build resilience to the climate impacts that are already unavoidable.

WRI’s finance team has provided technical and analytical work to the GCF from inception in 2011 through launch in 2014. Unlike previous major multilateral climate funds, the Green Climate Fund has a broad base of contributors among both developed and developing countries. Its 24 Board members are balanced between developed and developing countries, and its administration is lean.

The Fund is designed to work through partners, such as national development banks and the World Bank. Private sector involvement is also central to the Fund, which has the flexibility to use innovative financial instruments to encourage private companies to help tackle climate change, thereby stretching GCF resources.

The WRI team has sought to support the GCF management and Board to help ensure that ambition and rigor were built in to GCF design, so the Fund can deliver value for money to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

The Impact

As pledges of support flow in, the Fund’s investment framework lets it set priorities about how money can be invested for maximum impact. The Fund’s structure enables it to extend its reach through a wide array of partners, balanced between national and international institutions, while ensuring that all partners meet high fiduciary, environmental and social standards.