Green Climate Fund Concludes COP30 Poised To Scale Climate Finance And Accelerate Global Adaptation Efforts

The Green Climate Fund concluded its participation at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, expressing readiness to significantly expand climate finance activities aligned with the new global goals for adaptation and mitigation. COP30 resulted in major commitments, including the decision to triple adaptation finance by 2035 and a broader target to mobilize USD 1.3 trillion per year in climate finance by the same year. These developments position GCF to play an even greater role in supporting climate action across developing nations.

The Fund announced that efficiency reforms implemented in recent years have already allowed it to achieve a record level of programming in 2025. Of the funds programmed, USD 2.2 billion was dedicated specifically to adaptation projects, representing 8.5 percent of global adaptation finance commitments for the year. Overall, GCF is recognized as the world’s largest source of climate finance for adaptation, with adaptation accounting for 59 percent of its portfolio on a grant-equivalent basis. The Fund is preparing to further scale its operations to respond to the growing global demand for adaptation and mitigation financing.

COP30 was referred to as the “Implementation COP,” highlighting the importance of turning climate commitments into action. At the conference, GCF demonstrated its ability to operate at scale, reflecting on a record year in which USD 3.26 billion in new climate finance was approved. The current GCF portfolio includes 336 ongoing projects, involving USD 19.3 billion in direct GCF contributions and USD 78.7 billion including expected co-financing. These numbers underscore GCF’s expanding footprint and catalytic role in enabling large-scale climate solutions.

Several senior government officials from both developed and developing nations reiterated strong confidence in GCF’s leadership in climate finance. Germany’s Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Reem Alabali Radovan, described GCF as a global hub where public trust aligns with private-sector innovation. She remarked that the second decade of the Fund should be marked by acceleration, leverage, and lasting impact. Ministers from Togo and Papua New Guinea were among those who voiced appreciation for GCF’s contributions and urged continued collaboration to address urgent climate needs.

At the end of COP30, GCF announced its support for 15 new national and regional investment platforms, with two additional platforms in Brazil and the Caribbean announced previously, bringing the total to 17. These platforms are intended to promote nationally led climate action and nature-based solutions, helping countries transform policy and priority plans into investment-ready proposals. The platforms will enable governments to deploy climate finance more effectively and accelerate the implementation of climate projects. This initiative will be supported by GCF’s Readiness Programme, the world’s largest initiative dedicated to building capacity for climate finance.

The Fund also launched the GCF.10 Impact Report, titled “A decade of global climate: Building resilience, transforming lives,” commemorating ten years since its first approved projects in 2015 and the adoption of the Paris Agreement. The report was presented during a high-level side event where speakers reflected on the Fund’s achievements and progress in delivering capital, strengthening national institutions, and fostering impactful partnerships. The milestone underlines that while meaningful progress has been made, the urgent pace of climate change requires even greater scale and coordination.

GCF leaves COP30 with a clear message: the next decade must focus on accelerating climate action, expanding investment, and enabling countries to build a resilient and sustainable future.