BACKGROUND
Disparities in access to climate finance
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is the world’s largest climate fund, created to support developing countries’ pathways to low-emissions, climate-resilient futures.
But most of its funding still flows through a limited group of large, international organisations. In fact, 75% of GCF funding is routed through International Access Entities (IAEs) like the World Bank or UNDP, while only 25% reaches Direct Access Entities (DAEs)—which can be non-governmental, public, or private organisations—in recipient countries.
This imbalance slows country ownership, raises costs, and creates a gap between national climate priorities and how climate funding is actually used. The GCF’s 2024-2027 Strategic Plan aims to strengthen country capacities and enabling environments for investment through readiness and preparatory support for DAEs.
WHAT WE'RE DOING
Levelling the playing field
Abt’s targeted support to national and regional institutions — like Senegal’s Centre de Suivi Écologique — enables them to become accredited DAEs and secure funding directly from the GCF. Through the Project Preparation Facility (PPF), we also provide direct support to DAEs, most recently in Mexico, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
Our services through the GCF PPF include:
- Strengthening institutional capacity
- Supporting project design and economic analysis
- Navigating the GCF proposal and approval processes
- Developing tools and systems that reduce reporting burdens for DAEs
- Filling preparation gaps, conducting missing analyses, and strengthening the design of projects
This work enables more countries to take charge of their climate financing future and present completed funding proposal packages for consideration at GCF Board Meetings.
In 2025, Abt Global has been awarded as a Delivery Partner on GCF’s Readiness program. We will support DAEs to develop climate finance capacity, strengthen investment frameworks, and design mechanisms to facilitate private sector financing.
IMPACT
Opening doors to climate finance
Since 2021, Abt has delivered targeted support to GCF directly and to government- and non-government-accredited entities in 10 countries to tap climate finance for adaptation and mitigation projects.
- Streamlined Access, Simplified Approvals
Abt helped the GCF design and roll out a more efficient Simplified Approval Process (SAP): a fast-track funding window for small-scale, low-risk climate projects (typically under $25 million). GCF created SAP to reduce bureaucratic delays and open the door for under-resourced institutions, especially Direct Access Entities.
In 2023, Abt developed new SAP monitoring and reporting templates, digital submission tools, and annual reporting guidelines — aligned with GCF’s results-based frameworks. These tools are now used by all SAP projects globally, accelerating disbursements and improving fund access for dozens of national partners. - Unlocked $9.5M for Climate-Smart Agriculture in Senegal
Abt supported Senegal’s Centre de Suivi Écologique (CSE) to prepare and secure GCF Board approval for the Naatangué Farms project — a transformative investment in climate-resilient smallholder agriculture in a country chronically battling food shortages and environmental threats.
Abt led the full project preparation process, including technical and economic assessments, stakeholder validation workshops, and support through GCF review and negotiation stages. The resulting $9.5 million in GCF funding will support over 46,000 direct beneficiaries, reduce emissions by 18,480 MtCO2e, and scale a proven local model that integrates farming, livestock, and fisheries into resilient rural livelihoods.
Groundwork for PNG’s First GCF Project
In Papua New Guinea, Abt is currently partnering with a DAE to help design the country’s first-ever GCF project, focused on Climate-Smart Landscapes and community resilience. This effort helps bring new national stakeholders into the GCF ecosystem — expanding participation in global climate finance to historically underserved regions.
WHY IT MATTERS
Shift power, scale impact
Unlocking climate finance isn’t just about channelling more dollars — it’s about who controls those dollars, how fast they move, and whether they reach the people and ecosystems most at risk.
Abt’s support to DAEs — helping them navigate complex application, preparation, and reporting requirements — shows that capacity and access barriers can be overcome with the right technical partnership. Through our work on the SAP, we’ve helped GCF implement the very process reforms that make it possible for smaller, faster-moving projects — often led by DAEs — to succeed. These structural changes reduce funding delays and make the world’s largest climate fund more responsive, equitable, and effective.
This matters because:
- National, subnational or regional institutions are better positioned to align projects with national priorities, leading to more relevant, sustainable and replicable solutions.
- Country ownership is essential for long-term climate resilience — especially in places where external actors have historically dominated development decision-making.
- Transaction costs are lower when local institutions receive and manage funds directly, meaning more money reaches communities.
When GCF works the way it was intended, funding gets to where it’s needed most — faster and more fairly. We support the process to turn that intention into reality.
PROJECT
Various
CLIENT
Green Climate Fund