This helpdesk report from the Knowledge, Evidence and Learning for Development programme examines how climate finance is managed in lower-income countries and small island developing states, and makes the case for a more inclusive and targeted approach. It highlights the limited role these countries play in shaping global climate finance conversations, and argues that excluded groups, including Indigenous peoples, need a larger role in decisions about how climate funds are used.

The report focuses on access to the Green Climate Fund by local civil society organisations, Indigenous peoples' organisations and women's organisations in the Global South. It sets out the accreditation, capacity and procedural barriers these actors face, and concludes that engaging more local actors and applying a gender lens are both necessary if climate finance is to reach the people most affected by climate change.