The demand for climate finance is colossal, but supply is meager, so the Green Climate Fund is working to use its funds more strategically to unlock private finance.
“We are seeking to be more catalytic,” Simon Wilson, acting chief of staff in the office of the executive director, told Devex on the sidelines of the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP 27, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. “How do we use those funds in a smart way to bring in more partners — to drive in more funding?”
The annual investment needed in emerging markets and low- and middle-income countries, apart from China, for emissions reductions, resilience building, nature restoration and loss, and damage impacts is expected to surpass $2 trillion by 2030. But the Green Climate Fund, which is the world's largest climate fund dedicated to helping low- and middle-income countries, is managing a minimal percentage of the overall sum of what is needed.