BASE officially becomes a Green Climate Fund (GCF) Project Preparation Facility (PPF) service partner! The GCF, the world’s largest climate finance multilateral fund of its kind, is creating a pool of service providers to support its PPF window. Demonstrating a long-standing experience across various endeavours globally, including on GCF projects, BASE has been approved as a member of the modality’s roster of pre-qualified partner organisations.
GCF early recognised that developing countries may face capacity constraints in developing climate finance proposals. That is why GCF established a dedicated Project Preparation Facility (PPF) in 2016 to provide financial and technical assistance for the preparation of project and programme funding proposals to Accredited Entities (AEs), including Direct Access Entities (DAEs) for submission to GCF. Funding available is up to USD 1.5 million for each application to the PPF, commensurate with the funding proposal being developed and the activities included in the PPF application. The objective of the PPF is to provide AEs with technical and/or financial resources to allow the development of innovative and impactful climate risk mitigation and adaptation projects and programmes for GCF consideration. By doing so, the PPF also promotes enhanced access to GCF resources, a greater balance and diversity of the GCF project pipeline, and improved quality of projects and programmes that align with the goals of countries under the Paris Agreement.
Recognising the need to strengthen national climate finance systems and ensure all countries’ access to multilateral funding, BASE is proud to join the PPF as a delivery partner, looking forward to providing technical assistance and applying its expertise in developing sound financing strategies for climate solutions.
Founded jointly by the City of Basel and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), BASE was originally created to constitute a specialised centre for sustainable energy financing. In this context, the organisation has been striving to mobilise essential funding and transform climate projects into bankable, sustainable ventures via innovative and smart financial strategies coupled with scalable business models. Having developed a unique ability to develop and test innovative ideas and market-driven approaches that aim to generate systemic change in diverse sectors, notably energy efficiency, renewable energy, and electric mobility, BASE broadened its mandate in 2021 to include all climate change solutions. This reflected the growing global need to scale up financing for adaptation, and the rising importance of climate change mitigation in other areas, including land use, agriculture and circular economy.
Throughout its journey, BASE and its team of experts have contributed to GCF project development and proposals across various regions, with a focus on sustainable energy, energy efficiency, and climate resilience. Notably, BASE supported the Solar for Health (S4H) programme, an initiative led by UNDP currently under GCF review, which aims to invest USD 242 million in clean energy and health infrastructure across five African countries. In Lebanon, the ongoing Lebanon Green Investment Facility (LGIF) aims to mobilise USD 107 million for critical sectors such as energy and waste management. BASE has also contributed to the Accelerating Solar Action Programme (ASAP) from Ecobank Ghana, which aims to address key barriers for micro-small-and medium enterprises (MSMEs) adoption of solar energy solutions. Finally, the eBus Ghana Project, targets sustainable cooling and electric mobility with funding envelopes of USD 700 million and USD 40 million, respectively.
As countries around the globe are facing heightened climate-related risk, it is crucial to urgently bridge the climate finance gap. While emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) need amounts to at least USD 2.4 trillion, many nations struggle to access available funds due to limited capacities. High transaction costs, limited technical capacity, and lack of readiness often prevent national entities from developing high-quality, bankable project proposals that meet GCF investment criteria. The GCF Project Preparation Facility funding window addresses this critical gap by providing targeted support for project and programme design, including feasibility studies, environmental and social assessments, gender analysis, financial modelling, and stakeholder consultations.
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By covering these upfront costs, the PPF helps level the playing field for countries with limited resources, enabling them to develop ambitious, well-structured climate projects aligned with national priorities. It also enhances the quality and effectiveness of proposals submitted to the GCF, increasing the likelihood of funding approval and long-term impact. In this way, the PPF acts as a catalytic tool to unlock larger-scale climate finance and accelerate the transition toward low-emission, climate-resilient development pathways. BASE looks forward to leveraging its expertise to support Accredited Entities in developing robust funding proposals that meet GCF standards and enable transformative climate action.
To date, the GCF PPF has achieved the following support:
