UN-backed Green Climate Fund (GCF), the largest global climate fund for developing countries, announced that it approved nearly $2 billion in climate finance for 21 projects at its GCF Board meeting, bringing its 2026 approvals to a record $3.3 billion.

Launched in 2010 as part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) financial mechanism, the GFC is the world’s largest dedicated climate fund, with a mandate to foster low-emission, climate-resilient development pathways in developing countries. The Fund aims to deliver equal amounts of funding to mitigation and adaptation, and supports developing countries in achieving their climate ambitions.

The new approvals follow the launch of new balance sheet efficiency measures at GCF’s board meeting in July, which roughly quadrupled its capacity to financing new climate projects, adding $4 billion for investments through a change in its balance sheet management approach. At the time, GCF said that the new approach, which reduced the amount of capital that it holds in reserve on its balance sheet, would approximately $5.65 billion to be available for funding new programs and projects over the next two years, compared to $1.37 billion previously.

GCF said that the new balance sheet efficiency measures contributed to the record 2026 approvals.

The 21 new projects approved reach 44 developing countries across Africa, Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East, and Latin America and the Caribbean. Newly approved projects include the Africa Sovereign Climate Facility (ASCF) with Africa Finance Corporation, Regional Programmatic Approach on Climate Action (RPACA) with Asian Development Bank (ADB), Securing Permanent Forests to Combat Climate Change and Enhance Sustainable National and Local Economies in Cameroon (SPEFOCE), the Southern African Industrial Decarbonization Facility (SIDF) with Development Bank of Southern Africa Limited (DBSA), and second-tranche funding for the Green Cities Facility with European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The new approvals bring GCF’s portfolio to 379 projects and programmes with $22.3 billion in funding.

In addition to the new projects, GCF also announced the reappointment of Mafalda Duarte for a second four-year term as Executive Director. Duarte joined GCF in 2023, after serving as CEO at Climate Investment Funds.

Duarte said:

“Over the last three years we have implemented deep reforms which have already started to demonstrate significant impact, for example through a more efficient and fit-for-purpose accreditation framework and project due diligence, and more efficient management of the balance sheet. And we did this while reaching record levels of finance and approving projects in countries inadequately supported by climate finance.”

Photo credit: GCF