In partnership with the Global Environment Facility, the Green Climate Fund, and the Adaptation Fund, UNEP helps countries all over the world to access finance for adaptation. In 2024, the total value of the adaptation project portfolio managed by UNEP's Climate Change Adaptation Unit rose to around $550 million.
Adaptation Fund Climate Innovation Accelerator (AFCIA)
The AFCIA provides funding and technical assistance to innovative solutions for adapting to climate change. From the mountains of Nepal to the forests of Georgia, AFCIA brings climate adaptation solutions to life and helps successful projects to scale up, including by attracting private investment. We are currently looking for high-quality applications from projects that can demonstrate excellence in innovation and sustainability. If you’d like to apply, see here. We focus our support on developing countries, with special attention to Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States.
Global EbA Fund
The Global EbA Fund is providing grants to innovative approaches to ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA). Since the first Call for Proposals on 25 March 2021, over 1,100 applications have been received. Crucially, the Fund aims to encourage ‘catalytic’ initiatives to help overcome identified barriers for upscaling EbA. By supporting catalytic interventions, the Fund engages in strategic policy mainstreaming, and incentivises innovative finance mechanisms and private sector investments. The Fund will be collecting knowledge, evidence and stories about ecosystem-based adaptation initiatives, along with lessons for upscaling the practice.
Green Climate Fund Climate Readiness Programme
UNEP and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) are supporting governments to access adaptation finance through projects in ‘Climate Readiness’, which is defined as the capacities of countries to plan for, access, deliver, and report on climate finance. The GCF Readiness Programme supports country-driven initiatives by helping countries to strengthen their institutional capacities, governance mechanisms, and planning and programming frameworks towards a transformational long-term climate action agenda. The Readiness Programme provides grants and technical assistance to National Designated Authorities (NDAs) and/or focal points (FPs).
Strengthening Endogenous Capacities of Least Developed Countries to Access Finance for Climate Change Adaptation (UNI-LEAD)
The objective of this project is to strengthen capacities of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to achieve scaled up and effective climate change adaptation by fostering sustained endogenous technical services for project development, policy mainstreaming and the creation of an enabling environment for adaptation to climate change. The project will work primarily with the members of the Least Developed Countries Universities Consortium on Climate Change (LUCCC), who, along with the Least Developed Countries Group, will help to steer and implement the project.
Other Adaptation Funding Opportunities
UNEP supports and manages several other major funds, which although not focused solely on adaptation, still nevertheless provide finance for adaptation initiatives. These include:
- Restoration Seed Capital Facility - link
- Tropical Landscapes Finance Facility - link
- Land use Finance Programme - link
- Agri3 Fund - link
9 April 2026: Recent Indonesian media reports indicate that the Tropical Landscapes Finance Facility (TLFF) has been re-launched. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) confirms that the original TLFF structure and partnerships were concluded in 2023. UNEP has no involvement, association, or affiliation whatsoever with the relaunched TLFF or its current activities, and any past engagement should not be interpreted as an endorsement of this relaunch.
