The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is an international climate fund that finances greenhouse gas reduction and climate change adaptation projects. The GCF was established through an agreement reached at the 16th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC) Conference of the Partiesheld in Cancun, Mexico, in 2010. It is responsible for investing and managing climate funds raised by Convention parties in projects in developing countries. The GCF Secretariat was launched in Songdo, Incheon, in December 2013, and in March 2026, the GCF Board selected the country and city that would host a regional office in a developing country. This reflects an effort to expand operations beyond a headquarters-centered model and bring them closer to recipient countries.
Projects supported by the GCF are broadly divided into mitigation and adaptation. Mitigation projects reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as by expanding renewable energy, while adaptation projects prepare for climate-related damage such as floods and droughts. In the long term, the GCF aims to provide half of its funding to each area. However, the form of support varies depending on the nature of a project. For example, facilities designed to prevent flood damage may be suitable for grants that do not have to be repaid because they are unlikely to generate direct revenue. By contrast, a solar power plant can generate revenue by selling electricity, so it may be supported through a loan that is repaid later. The shares of support for adaptation and mitigation are compared based on the amounts calculated this way. According to an official report submitted by the GCF in November 2025, the shares calculated using the grant-equivalent method were also 59% for adaptation and 41% for mitigation. Adaptation therefore accounted for a larger share than the long-term 50–50 target.
As of October 2026, the GCF has approved support for 358 projects in 134 countries, totaling approximately $20.4 billion. Compared with 286 projects totaling $16 billion in November 2024, the amount approved for supportincreased by approximately 27.5%. This means that the scale of GCF support grew rapidly in less than two years.
The amount that countries pledged to provide during the second replenishment period, from 2024 to 2027, was $13.6 billion as of November 2024—more than the approximately $10 billion pledged during the first period. However, in February 2025, the United States withdrew $4 billion in pledged funds that it had not yet paid. Of this amount, $1 billion was pledged during the initial resource mobilization, while the remaining $3 billion related to the second replenishment period. As a result, pledges for the second period fell to approximately $10.6 billion as of March 2025. The U.S. case shows that even international funds established to support climate action in developing countries can see their resources change in response to policy shifts in donor countries.
by Editor O