BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 20. The Green Climate
Fund (GCF) is simplifying access to climate finance for
institutions in Azerbaijan and Central Asia through a new regional
presence in Amman, Jordan, and reformed accreditation pathways, a
GCF spokesperson told Trend.
“At its 44th Board meeting in March 2026 in Songdo, the GCF
Board selected Amman, Jordan, as the host city for a new regional
office serving Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East,”
the spokesperson said.
According to him, the office is intended to bring GCF closer to
national institutions and stakeholders. The regional office will
act as a direct point of engagement for Azerbaijan and Central
Asian states.
“It will strengthen coordination with GCF’s government focal
points (National Designated Authorities, NDA), Accredited Entities
(AEs) and broader partner networks at the national and
international level,” the spokesperson said.
It is also expected to accelerate project preparation, ensure
readiness support matches country needs, and improve implementation
and monitoring of results.
“GCF has revised its accreditation procedures to make the
accreditation process faster, more fit-for-purpose, streamlining it
as an institutional due-diligence mechanism aligned with GCF’s
strategic objectives,” the spokesperson explained.
A key innovation is the Project-Specific Assessment Approach
(PSAA). “Under the PSAA, the entity’s capacity assessment and the
funding proposal appraisal are conducted in parallel, significantly
reducing the overall time and transaction costs to access GCF
funding,” the spokesperson said.
Entities that successfully complete a PSAA project can later
pursue full institutional accreditation. PSAA priorities include
sub-national, national, and regional applicants from developing
countries, as well as entities responding to enhanced direct access
calls, mobilizing funds at scale, and MSME-focused initiatives.
GCF also provides Readiness and Preparatory Support for
pre-accreditation financing. “At the point of accreditation, DAEs
are eligible for post-accreditation support on quality programming
with the GCF and other funds,” the spokesperson said.
With the regional office in Amman, this support can now be
tailored more precisely to the institutional and policy environment
of countries in Central Asia and the South Caucasus.
The spokesperson concluded that, for institutions in Azerbaijan
and Central Asia, the combination of a closer regional presence,
faster accreditation, dedicated readiness support, and the PSAA
pathway offers a substantially improved route to becoming a GCF
partner and accessing climate finance directly for national
priorities.
