In a landmark move that signals renewed momentum in global climate action, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved a record USD 1.225 billion to support 17 climate adaptation and mitigation projects in developing countries—many of them in Africa. This decision, taken during the Fund’s 42nd Board Meeting in Papua New Guinea, marks the largest single-meeting disbursement in GCF’s history and affirms a growing recognition of Africa’s central role in the global climate response.
Several of the newly approved projects are targeted at African countries, including Ghana, South Africa, Mauritania, and across the Sahel region through the Great Green Wall initiative. These investments reflect a broader shift in global climate finance—one that increasingly prioritises the world’s most vulnerable regions, where the impacts of climate change are most severe and adaptation needs most urgent. In Mauritania, for instance, GCF funding will strengthen early warning systems and ecosystem resilience, while in South Africa, a large-scale nature-based solution will scale up disaster risk reduction in climate-sensitive areas.
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The African continent also stands to benefit significantly from GCF’s $227 million equity investment in the Global Green Bonds Initiative, which aims to unlock private capital for climate projects. Sub-Saharan Africa, where green bond markets remain nascent, is expected to gain traction as the initiative targets the expansion of sustainable finance infrastructure across the region. With Africa currently representing less than 1% of global green bond issuance, the move represents a deliberate effort to crowd in private investment and deepen domestic capital markets.
Beyond the financial allocations, the meeting was pivotal in reforming how the Fund operates—especially for African stakeholders. A comprehensive overhaul of GCF’s accreditation system was approved, cutting down the review period for new applications from over two years to just nine months. Eight new partner institutions were accredited during the session, including the Banque Nationale d’Investissement of Côte d’Ivoire and the Development Bank of Namibia. These Direct Access Entities, which allow countries to design and implement climate projects independently, are central to Africa’s ambition to own and lead its climate response.
As part of its decentralisation agenda, GCF has also invited proposals to host regional offices and global outposts. African countries are expected to be among the contenders, with a regional presence promising to bring the Fund closer to the people and institutions it serves—potentially reducing bureaucratic bottlenecks and aligning financing more directly with national climate priorities.
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The newly approved projects bring the GCF’s total portfolio to 314 projects, worth $18 billion in Fund resources and $67 billion including co-financing. However, African policymakers and climate advocates are aware that these numbers, while impressive, still fall far short of the continent’s annual climate finance needs, estimated at over $190 billion. What makes this latest funding round significant is not only its size but its signal: the tide may be turning toward a system that listens more, responds faster, and works closer to the ground.
Co-Chair of the Board, Ambassador Seyni Nafo of Mali, said the outcomes mark a turning point for climate finance delivery. “This Board meeting has approved a record amount of new climate finance for developing countries. At a time when collective climate action is more needed than ever, GCF is stepping up to deliver on its mandate,” he said.
Executive Director Mafalda Duarte, speaking from Papua New Guinea, added that the reforms and funding advances align with the Fund’s “50 by 30” vision, to become the partner of choice for climate action by 2030. “The changes adopted here will make us more efficient, inclusive, and grounded in the realities of the communities we serve,” she said.
As Africa prepares to host COP31 in 2026, this milestone by the GCF underscores a critical shift in international climate finance. For many African nations, it is a long-awaited step towards a more just, responsive, and continent-aware financing system, one that recognizes Africa not merely as a recipient of aid, but as a driver of climate solutions with global impact.
