The UN-led Green Climate Fund (GCF) approved a raft of climate-related projects this week, allocating $1.01bn of its funding across developing countries.
The 16 projects approved will channel funds to 37 developing countries and include adaptation and mitigation projects. Adaptation refers to adjusting to the effects of climate change where possible, while mitigation relates to cutting emissions.
The process for two of the projects, in Burundi and Somalia, was sped up, moving from approval to first disbursement in one day, the fund said.
The GCF has committed $2.5bn to 44 projects this year, covering 133 countries. Its total investments have now reached $16bn across 286 projects, with an expected co-financing total of $61.5bn.
The fund operates under the financial mechanism of UN climate body the UNFCCC. It is the world's largest climate fund and was originally capitalised with $10.3bn in 2015. The fund's first replenishment, in 2019, gathered a further $10bn in pledges and its second replenishment reached $12.8bn after funding commitments were made at Cop 28 in December last year.
Climate finance is set to dominate the UN Cop 29 climate summit this year. Discussions of the topic are often fraught and can hold up negotiations in other areas.
