Published on 12 November 2024

The Green Climate Fund

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is a global fund created to respond to climate change by investing in low-carbon and climate-resilient development.

Sustainable forest management: The GCF is supporting Georgia in its fight against deforestation and greenhouse gases. More information below.

Role and activities of the GCF

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) was established by the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2010. Its mission is to make a contribution towards combating climate change by helping developing countries to reduce their carbon emissions and adapt to climate change.

The GCF invests primarily in the following areas: production of and access to renewable energy, resilience of communities vulnerable to climate change, forest protection, climate-friendly cities and infrastructure, and food and water security.

The Fund aims to strike a balance between financing the reduction of carbon emissions and the adaptation to climate change, taking into account the needs of particularly vulnerable countries. It also seeks to strengthen the commitment of the private sector.

The GCF works with accredited bodies to implement its activities on the ground.

• The GCF at a glance

  • Establishment: 2010
  • Headquarters: Songdo, South Korea
  • Executive director: Mafalda Duarte (Portugal)
  • Board composition: 24 members (12 from developed and 12 from developing countries)
  • Swiss representation: Switzerland shares a seat on the GCF Board with Finland. The constituency also includes Hungary, Monaco and Liechtenstein.
  • Available funding: USD 12.83 billion in pledges from 33 donors for 2024-27
  • Swiss contribution: CHF 135 million for 2024-27

GCF portfolio

By early 2024, the GCF Board had committed some 13.9 billion US dollars to 253 projects in 129 countries. The projects aim to reduce carbon emissions by more than 2.9 billion tonnes and enable more than a billion people to increase their resilience to climate change. The full list of projects is available on the GCF website.

Switzerland and the GCF

Switzerland is an active member of the GCF Council, sharing a seat with Finland. Hungary, Liechtenstein and Monaco are also part of the constituency. Switzerland is contributing 135 million Swiss francs to the second replenishment of the fund for the 2024-27 period.

Switzerland supports the objectives and principles of the GCF and is committed to the following priorities:

• Results-oriented, effective and targeted financing of development projects according to the GCF's expertise and priorities;
• Supporting countries in the transition away from fossil fuels;
• Ensuring transparent, efficient and inclusive procedures and effective use of funds;
• Strengthening complementarity and coherence with other climate finance institutions;
• Optimising the network of partner organisations to increase the effectiveness of activities and
• Enhancing participation by the private sector in order to mobilise additional funding.

• Project example: Reform of the forestry sector in Georgia

  Up to 90% of rural households in Georgia rely on firewood for their energy needs, leading to a degradation of the forests and a subsequent reduction in their carbon absorption capacity, which is projected to decrease fivefold between 1990 and 2030. This joint project by the GCF, the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in three regions of Georgia is designed to reduce carbon emissions by strengthening carbon sequestration through the introduction of sustainable forest management.

  Implementation of the project, which includes a national forestry programme for sectoral stakeholder participation, began in 2021 and has already achieved significant results: seven regional forest management inventories and two forest management plans are in place, new equipment has been installed to improve forest monitoring by detecting illegal logging activities, and 27 forestry inspectors have been trained. In addition, measures are being taken on a total of 1,022.5 hectares – the equivalent of around 1,649 football pitches – to promote the natural regeneration of forests in the target regions.

  

  Environmentally friendly forest management: The GCF is helping Georgia to reduce deforestation and greenhouse gases and is providing training for this purpose.

Further information

• SECO factsheets

  • Factsheet Green Climate Fund

    PDF422.40 kB8 August 2025

• Links

  GCF website

  GCF careers