The UN Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved eight projects, allocating $483.1mn in climate funding across 31 developing countries.
The GCF will consider four more projects — which would allocate around $253.7mn — during its board meeting, which runs from 17-20 February.
Of the approved projects, five are focused on adaptation — adjusting to the effects of climate change where possible — and three on adaptation and mitigation, which refers to cutting emissions.
The GCF operates under the financial mechanism of UN climate body the UNFCCC and is mandated to invest half of its resources in mitigation and half in adaptation. It is the world's largest climate fund and was originally capitalised with $10.3bn in 2015. The fund's first replenishment, in 2019, gathered a further $10bn in pledges and its second replenishment reached around $13.6bn after funds committed at the UN Cop summits in 2023 and 2024.
But the US rescinded "outstanding pledges" to the fund earlier this month, the country's State Department said. These are thought to amount to around $4bn.
Recent UN climate talks have centred around finance for developing countries, to address climate change and decarbonise. Countries agreed at last year's Cop 29 to a new financing goal of "at least" $300bn/yr for developing nations by 2035.