The GCF moves to unlock billions for climate action in Africa

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has opened a high-level regional dialogue in Accra to accelerate climate investments across West and Central Africa, bringing together over 200 delegates from 25 countries.

This meeting focused on practical measures to expand access to climate finance, strengthen country ownership and transform climate priorities into bankable projects.

Participants include designated national authorities, ministries of finance, direct access bodies, accredited international bodies, preparedness delivery partners, private sector actors, civil society organizations and regional stakeholders.

Hosted by the Government of Ghana, the dialogue was declared open by Ghana’s Deputy Finance Minister, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, who said the challenge for Africa is no longer the need for climate finance, but the speed and scale of its mobilization.

“The question is not whether Africa needs climate finance, but how to mobilize it faster, at scale and in terms that foster rather than constrain development,” he said.

“Our task, therefore, is to transform priorities into projects, projects into lines of investment and financing into measurable development results. This is where institutions such as the Green Climate Fund become indispensable,” added the deputy minister.

GCF Africa Region Director Catherine Koffman said the dialogue was designed to go beyond reviewing past successes and multiplying impact across the region.

“This is the paradigm shift we seek to achieve by going beyond project financing to transform systems, markets and economies at the scale required by the climate challenge,” he said.

“Delegates will examine financing structures, public-private partnerships and investment opportunities in critical sectors including urban resilience, low-emission transport, food security, clean energy and ecosystem services. The program also includes a private sector day and practical workshops on preparedness planning, evaluating financing proposals and accreditation.

The Accra Dialogue comes at a strategic time as the GCF launches its third recovery process (GCF-3) and countries in the region step up efforts to scale up climate action.

In West and Central Africa alone, the GCF has committed $2.9 billion to 80 projects, leveraging an additional $5.7 billion in co-financing to bring the total portfolio to $8.6 billion. The region accounts for 37% of GCF funding in Africa.

Organizers stressed that private capital remains key to accelerating climate solutions on the continent. Across Africa, private financing represents 41% of GCF’s portfolio, of which more than half is invested in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), where private capital rarely flows.