Climate change offers businesses an unprecedented chance to capitalize on new growth and investment opportunities that can protect the planet as well. The Green Climate Fund is a financing agency and assists developing countries in adaptation and mitigation practices to counter climate change.

Corruption in climate finance negatively impacts climate change intervention, undermining mitigation efforts to reduce emissions and decreasing the quality of adaptation infrastructure – in both cases, donors and other funders suffer the loss or misuse of funds. It is important to have appropriate strategies to ensure climate finance is not stolen, wasted, or directed to suboptimal activities. In line with its Governing Instrument, the Green Climate Fund requires that beneficiaries to adhere to the high fiduciary standards. The Independent Integrity Unit has a preventative and investigative mandate. Since its creation in 2016, the Unit has developed a series of integrity policies and standards that address prohibited practices, money laundering and terrorism financing and sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment. The Administrative Remedies and Exclusion Policy - is the latest policy approved by the Board on 12 May 2021 - it sets up an independent sanction process.

The paper will build on the experience of the Green Climate Fund in addressing prohibited practices in climate finance. It will delve on the importance of collective action among international players so as to effectively address prohibited practices and in ensuring that sanctions are effective.