Green Climate Fund Backs Second EBRD Green Cities Tranche
The €87 million second tranche doubles concessional financing for the program to €174 million across participating cities.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Environmental
The Green Climate Fund approved a second €87 million financing tranche for the EBRD Green Cities program, doubling its concessional financing to €174 million. The program now includes more than 60 participating cities across 15 eligible countries.
Why it matters
The additional financing is intended to help cities pursue more ambitious climate investments while addressing affordability and bankability constraints that often limit local projects. It also extends a partnership between the EBRD and GCF that is approaching its tenth year.
The first tranche supported eight completed Green City Action Plans and ten investments, including the River Bic Rehabilitation and Flood Protection project in Chisinau, Moldova. Specific allocations for the second tranche's projects have not been detailed.
The players
Green Climate Fund
The Green Climate Fund is a global fund established under the UNFCCC to channel climate finance to developing countries.
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
The EBRD is a multilateral development bank that finances projects in Europe, Central Asia, and the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean.
The details
GCF concessional financing supports policy work, infrastructure investment, technical assistance and capacity building, and measures to improve access to green finance. The River Bic project was the first time the EBRD formally implemented a nature-based solution as part of a project.
Timeline
Over the past decade, the EBRD and GCF have worked together across programs and sectors on climate action.
On November 2, 2026, the GCF approved the second €87 million tranche for EBRD Green Cities.
Big Picture
The second tranche extends a GCF concessional finance model that began with the first tranche and now reaches more than 60 cities in 15 countries. It shows the fund scaling a city-level approach that integrates nature-based solutions into infrastructure finance.
For readers in cities across the eligible countries, the expansion of concessional financing may translate into new municipal climate projects such as flood protection and green infrastructure. Residents of participating cities may see these investments in local planning and public works over the coming years.
The takeaway
Cities seeking green investment can draw on concessional finance paired with technical assistance, and the EBRD-GCF model shows how nature-based solutions can be built into standard infrastructure projects.
Further reading
Explore more Environmental coverage for context on climate finance and urban resilience projects.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Renewable Energy Magazine, at the heart of clean energy journalism.
