The Green Climate Fund: history, status and legitimacy

Abstract

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is intended to play a central role in mobilizing climate finance of $100 billion a year by 2020 onwards. Established under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2010, the GCF is key to the implementation of the Convention and the Paris Agreement. The chapter situates the GCF within the broader political context of global climate finance, provides a brief history of the organization and its relationship to international climate fund predecessors, describes its early years of operation and some of the challenges it faces. The chapter also includes a discussion focused on the GCF's need to prevent the creation of barriers to entry for new entities seeking financing to implement climate change projects while ensuring accountability. The conclusions and outlook section contains recommendations for strengthening the legitimacy of the GCF in the eyes of its many stakeholders.