The Green Climate Fund was established at COP 16 in Cancun and is supposed to become one of the central pillars of the international climate finance architecture. The mission of the fund is to support a paradigm shift in the global response to climate change, by mobilising funding at scale in order to invest in low-emission and climate-resilient development.
It is governed by a Board of 24 members, with a balanced representation of developed and developing countries. The fund's resources will be allocated in order to reach a 50:50 balance between its spending on mitigation and adaptation to climate change. At least 50% of its adaptation portfolio are designated to go to LDCs, SIDS and African States. One of its most innovative characteristics is its Private Sector Facility which, amongst others, seeks to mobilise at large scale private funding flows from international, regional, and local commercial banks and institutional investors. The fund also counts with a direct access modality to funding and a readiness support programme which aims at enhancing country ownership and access.