This briefing analyses approved Green Climate Fund (GCF) projects from November 2015 to July 2021, with a view to understanding how Small Island Developing States (SIDS) have accessed the GCF to date.

The Green Climate Fund is the largest climate fund in existence and its main goal is to help developing countries limit or reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adapt to climate change and to promote a paradigm shift to low-emission and climate-resilient development.

This briefing analyses historical access of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to the GCF and compares such access to other countries and country groupings.

The findings of the report suggest that despite the GCF’s efforts to ensure efficient access to financial resources for SIDS, significant challenges still remain. The briefing includes graphical representation of SIDS projects for a number of different categories, including by region, access modality, thematic area and size, as well as information on disbursement.

Read part two of the briefing

Climate finance

Publications

Calculating the loss and damage finance gap: a scoping and feasibility exercise

At COP28, delegates agreed to operationalise a fund to compensate vulnerable countries coping with loss and damage caused by climate change. This report proposes a method for how to calculate how much finance the Global South needs for loss and damage.

How can event attribution science underpin financial decisions on Loss and Damage?

With climate extremes hitting nations across the globe, disproportionately burdening vulnerable developing countries, funding for loss and damage is an acute need. Attribution science can provide useful information for decision makers.

Using existing databases to report on loss and damage in Biennial Transparency Reports under the UNFCCC

Calculating financing needs to respond to loss and damage requires response activities to be costed. However, comprehensive assessments of current and future loss and damage costs are largely unavailable. This briefing proposes using existing databases as proxies in the interim.

Article 6.4 progress update: work of the Supervisory Body on the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism

The Article 6.4 mechanism, now known as the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism, allows countries to trade reductions in carbon emissions in a manner that goes beyond zero-sum offsetting, to achieve their commitments under the Paris Agreement. This briefing aims to update Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries on the standards and procedures that have been adopted by the supervising body (Article 6.4) to inform the design of projects.

What good looks like: G7 climate policy 2024 update

This brief outlines seven key policy recommendations for this June’s G7 summit that, if adopted, would demonstrate the ambition and leadership needed to keep the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C limit in sight.

Climate justice and loss and damage: perspectives from the global south

This article outlines the loss and damage debate through a climate justice lens with particular emphasis on Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries. It examines the latest developments of the new loss and damage fund including operationalisation.

Tripling renewables by 2030: interpreting the global goal at the regional level

At COP28, governments agreed to triple global renewable capacity by 2030. This report breaks down what a 1.5ºC-aligned renewables rollout would look like at the regional level and calculate the associated investment needs.

De la CDN 1.0 à la CDN 2.0: qu'est-ce qui a changé dans les CDN des PMA de l’Afrique de l'Ouest?

La présente étude examine les premières et les secondes Contributions Déterminées au niveau National des onze pays les moins avancés de l’Afrique de l’Ouest à savoir le Bénin, le Burkina Faso, la Gambie, la Guinée, la Guinée Bissau, le Libéria, le Mali, le Niger, le Sénégal, la Sierra Leone et le Togo.

Utilisation of EU funds for the transformation of the transport sector

This report looks at EU funding that can support the decarbonisation of the transport sector in Lithuania, Romania, Poland and Hungary, and why emissions reduction projects can be at a competitive disadvantage.

Why offsets are not a viable alternative to cutting emissions

In this report we assess the state of the global science around offsets, and, in light of that, examine the impact of the Australian Government’s proposed changes for the country’s industrial emitters.

Uncompensated claims to fair emission space risk putting Paris Agreement goals out of reach

Based on scenarios underlying the IPCC's 6th Assessment Report, in this paper we construct a suite of scenarios that combine the following elements: (a) two quantifications of a moral claim to the remaining carbon space by South Asia, and Africa, (b) a 'highest possible emission reduction' effort by developed regions, and (c) a corresponding range for other developing regions. Our findings raise important questions of perspectives on equity in the context of the Paris Agreement including on the critical importance of climate finance.

Interacting adaptation constraints in the Caribbean highlight the importance of sustained adaptation finance

This paper provides an assessment on regional perceptions of adaptation constraints and avenues to overcome them based on a mixed-method approach, combining an online survey and semi-structured interviews with adaptation experts from Caribbean SIDS. It finds that finance is the largest constraint being faced.

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SIDS access to the Green Climate Fund - understanding the GCF portfolio in small island developing states