[Lecture] 'How the Green Climate Fund Advances Access to Climate Finance'
Details
LECTURE TITLE:
Global Climate Issues: How the Green Climate Fund Advances Access to Climate Finance
SPEAKER: Olena Borysova
DATE: Tuesday. February 24, 2026. 7:20PM (Seoul)
VENUE: Seoul Public Activities Center (SPAC, 서울시공익활동지원센터). ‘다목적홀’
(ADDRESS: Basement Floor, 40 Baekbeomro 99-gil, Yongsan Verdium Friends(용산베르디움프렌즈) #101, Yongsan-gu, Seoul), 2-3 minutes walking from Exit 8 of Samgakji-Station (Line 6 & Line 4)
ADMISSION (Online & In-person): “Open to everyone, free of charge”
SUMMARY:
Drawing on over two decades of experience in climate policy, finance, and institutional capacity building, Olena will provide an insider’s perspective on how the Green Climate Fund — the world’s largest dedicated climate fund — supports developing countries in implementing mitigation and adaptation solutions. She will explain how GCF works with accredited institutions to channel funding, strengthen national systems, and ensure climate investments align with countries’ development priorities and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
A central focus of the lecture will be direct access to climate finance — an approach that enables national and regional institutions in developing countries to access and manage funding directly. Olena will discuss how strengthening institutional capacity, governance systems, and project design capabilities enables countries to take greater ownership of climate action and scale sustainable solutions.
The talk will also highlight the importance of international partnerships and the unique role of the Republic of Korea as host of the GCF Secretariat and a leader in global climate cooperation. Korea’s support for innovation, private sector engagement, and knowledge sharing demonstrates how host countries can contribute to accelerating climate solutions worldwide.
Participants will gain a clearer understanding of global climate finance architecture, the challenges countries face in accessing funding, and how the GCF continues to evolve to make climate finance more accessible, effective, and responsive to global needs.
BIO:
Olena Borysova is a climate finance and sustainable development specialist with over 20 years of experience in climate change, energy and resource efficiency, environmental governance and policy, and institutional capacity building. She currently serves as a Principal in the Investment Services Department at the Green Climate Fund (GCF) in Songdo, Republic of Korea, where she leads efforts to strengthen direct access to climate finance and enhance developing countries’ ability to mobilize and manage climate investments.
Prior to joining the GCF, Olena worked at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) as Principal for Policy and Climate Finance. Earlier in her career, she managed climate and energy programmes in Ukraine, supporting policy development and implementation to improve energy efficiency and environmental performance.
Olena has also contributed to environmental research and higher education as a Fulbright Scholar in the United States and as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Bologna, Italy, experiences that further strengthened her international perspective on climate governance and policy.
She holds a PhD in Environmental Geography from Kharkiv National Karazin University (Ukraine) and an MSc in Environmental Pollution and Control from the University of Manchester (United Kingdom).
Olena is currently based in Songdo, South Korea.