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Aid or Agency? A World-Systems Theory Analysis of the Green Climate Fund’s Strategic Priorities Over Time

Kirby, Hana Maria LU (2025) In IIIEE Master Thesis IMEM01 20251
The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics
Abstract (Swedish)
As the climate crisis intensifies, climate adaptation becomes increasingly urgent and necessary. This holds especially true for Small Island Developing States, who, despite bearing little responsibility in creating the problem, are uniquely vulnerable to slow onset and extreme weather events. To address climate impacts in developing countries, the international community has set up pathways to help finance mitigation and adaptation projects. However, some scholars argue that long-term presence of foreign aid may create and sustain dependency. This thesis examines the world’s largest multilateral climate fund, the Green Climate Fund (GCF), for systemic power imbalances between developed and developing countries—a topic rarely applied to... (More)
As the climate crisis intensifies, climate adaptation becomes increasingly urgent and necessary. This holds especially true for Small Island Developing States, who, despite bearing little responsibility in creating the problem, are uniquely vulnerable to slow onset and extreme weather events. To address climate impacts in developing countries, the international community has set up pathways to help finance mitigation and adaptation projects. However, some scholars argue that long-term presence of foreign aid may create and sustain dependency. This thesis examines the world’s largest multilateral climate fund, the Green Climate Fund (GCF), for systemic power imbalances between developed and developing countries—a topic rarely applied to climate finance.
Applying a conceptual framework rooted in World-Systems Theory (WST), this study analyzes GCF strategic planning documents spanning the period of 2016-2023 for evidence of dependency between donor and applicant countries and whether this has changed over time. Supported by literature and a small sample of interviews, findings highlight varied results. Some expectations of WST hold true, such as neglect of countries with heightened vulnerability. However, other aspects of GCF operations do not conform to the theory, including certain mandates such as balanced board membership between developed and developing countries. It also revealed change in Fund priorities over time with recent plans demonstrating increased attention to vulnerability and capacity-building support. While the study depicts progress made, recent literature has debated how well strategic goals have translated into practice, citing continued procedural burdens and limited regional engagement. This thesis proposes that to further decouple from systemic patterns of dependency, the GCF should consider additional reforms such as simplifying application criteria and strengthening context-specific knowledge. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Kirby, Hana Maria LU
supervisor
organization
course
IMEM01 20251
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Keywords: World-systems theory, climate finance, climate adaptation, vulnerability
publication/series
IIIEE Master Thesis
report number
2025:23
ISSN
1401-9191
language
English
id
9248928
date added to LUP
2026-08-25 09:05:50
date last changed
2026-08-25 09:05:50
@misc{9248928,
  abstract     = {{As the climate crisis intensifies, climate adaptation becomes increasingly urgent and necessary. This holds especially true for Small Island Developing States, who, despite bearing little responsibility in creating the problem, are uniquely vulnerable to slow onset and extreme weather events. To address climate impacts in developing countries, the international community has set up pathways to help finance mitigation and adaptation projects. However, some scholars argue that long-term presence of foreign aid may create and sustain dependency. This thesis examines the world’s largest multilateral climate fund, the Green Climate Fund (GCF), for systemic power imbalances between developed and developing countries—a topic rarely applied to climate finance.
Applying a conceptual framework rooted in World-Systems Theory (WST), this study analyzes GCF strategic planning documents spanning the period of 2016-2023 for evidence of dependency between donor and applicant countries and whether this has changed over time. Supported by literature and a small sample of interviews, findings highlight varied results. Some expectations of WST hold true, such as neglect of countries with heightened vulnerability. However, other aspects of GCF operations do not conform to the theory, including certain mandates such as balanced board membership between developed and developing countries. It also revealed change in Fund priorities over time with recent plans demonstrating increased attention to vulnerability and capacity-building support. While the study depicts progress made, recent literature has debated how well strategic goals have translated into practice, citing continued procedural burdens and limited regional engagement. This thesis proposes that to further decouple from systemic patterns of dependency, the GCF should consider additional reforms such as simplifying application criteria and strengthening context-specific knowledge.}},
  author       = {{Kirby, Hana Maria}},
  issn         = {{1401-9191}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  series       = {{IIIEE Master Thesis}},
  title        = {{Aid or Agency? A World-Systems Theory Analysis of the Green Climate Fund’s Strategic Priorities Over Time}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}