Governors' Climate & Forests Task Force

What Governors' Climate & Forests Task Force does

The Governors' Climate and Forests Task Force (GCF Task Force) is a non-profit subnational governmental network founded in 2008/2009 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California, with its secretariat housed at UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. The organization convenes 54 states and provinces across 11 countries in the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe — collectively responsible for more than one-third of the world's tropical forests — to coordinate political engagement on forest protection, emissions reduction, and sustainable livelihoods. Its core programmatic pillars include Jurisdictional Strategies and Investment Plans (REDD+ and low-emissions development), the New Forest Economy Initiative (launched with a Blueprint in 2024), the Climate Pathways Project, Inclusive Forest Governance programs for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities and Women for Forests and Climate, and an Innovation Funding track. The organization facilitates 20+ meetings since 2009, including annual gatherings and high-level forums at UNFCCC COP and Climate Week NYC.

GCF Task Force is not a technology product company; its underlying "platform" is a coordination and convening architecture linking governors, civil servants, Indigenous leaders, civil society, and the private sector across jurisdictional boundaries. Technical work is conducted through partnerships rather than proprietary technology: remote sensing and carbon data via CTrees, research collaboration with CIFOR-ICRAF and the Science Panel for the Amazon, disclosure alignment with CDP, and academic engagement through Alianza MX, UNAMAZ, UCLA, and University of Colorado Boulder. Outputs include jurisdictional strategies, investment pitch books, the San Martin ArcGIS Storymap, a Tracking Impact knowledge database, and a resource library of declarations.

The business model is grant-funded and partnership-based rather than revenue-generating. The Government of Norway through NORAD is the principal sponsor, with documented commitments of approximately $25M (2015), ~$24M via UNDP (2017), and NOK 49.7M (2018) plus additional NOK 49.7M subcontracted through The Climate Group. Membership is free for qualifying subnational governments. Additional funding flows through Green Climate Fund projects (e.g., $109.6M West Kalimantan project, of which $65M is from GCF), UNDP partnerships, EU programs (Amazonia+), and foundation support. The organization operates with approximately 10 employees globally plus Country Directors in Indonesia, Brazil, Peru, and Mexico.

Name

Governors' Climate & Forests Task Force

Legal name

Governors' Climate and Forests Task Force

Website

https://gcftf.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Governors' Climate and Forests Task Force is a non-profit network of 54 subnational governments across 11 countries that coordinates political engagement, jurisdictional strategies, and partnerships to protect tropical forests, reduce emissions, and build a New Forest Economy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Governance Network Services

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Climate Policy, Governance & NDC Support (BPADALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Technical Committees, Working Groups & Expert Panels (BPADANAB), Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM)

Keywords

• Subnational climate governance
• Tropical forest protection
• REDD+ jurisdictional strategies
• Bioeconomy development
• Climate policy networks

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding and Donor Support: The GCF Task Force operates as a non-profit network supported by grants and donor funding. The primary sponsor has been the Government of Norway through NORAD. They also receive support from various foundations and government agencies. Funding supports operational costs, member activities, and program implementation across member states and provinces.
2. Partnership-based Funding: Strategic partnerships with organizations like CIFOR-ICRAF, CTrees, CDP, Tropical Forest Alliance, and others contribute to the network's capacity to deliver programs. Funding flows through various mechanisms including UNDP partnerships and Green Climate Fund projects.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The GCF Task Force is a non-profit subnational network of 54 states and provinces across 11 countries that facilitates political engagement, jurisdictional REDD+ strategies, peer-to-peer learning, capacity building, and climate finance mobilization to protect tropical forests, reduce emissions, and enhance livelihoods. It convenes governors and high-level staff in national, regional, and international processes, develops jurisdictional strategies and investment plans, and coordinates knowledge exchange across member jurisdictions.

Product overview

GCF Task Force is a non-profit subnational governmental network organization (not a commercial software product company) that offers a portfolio of programs, initiatives, tools, and resources focused on protecting tropical forests, reducing emissions, and enhancing livelihoods. Its core offerings include the New Forest Economy Initiative (a comprehensive approach to forest conservation and sustainable economic development), the Impact Investing to Reduce Deforestation project with the San Martin region, the Investment Strategy Pitch Book Toolkit, the San Martin ArcGIS Storymap, annual meeting convenings, jurisdictional strategy development support, trainings and knowledge exchanges, Climate Pathways Project, Jurisdictional REDD+ Program, Women for Forests and Climate Initiative, Indigenous Peoples & Local Communities Program, Resource Library, and Tracking Impact knowledge database.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• New Forest Economy Initiative
• Annual Meetings
• Jurisdictional REDD+ Program
• Climate Pathways Project
• Women for Forests and Climate Initiative
• Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Program
• Trainings and Knowledge Exchanges
• Jurisdictional Strategies and Investment Plans
• Tracking Impact Knowledge Database

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CIFOR-ICRAF (Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2024GCF Task Force and CIFOR-ICRAF entered into a Memorandum of Understanding in June 2024 (updating an earlier MOU) to work together to increase knowledge about subnational jurisdictional climate change and land-use governance platforms. The partnership aims to promote effective climate change policies and programs and build sustainable economic systems in forest landscapes, support monitoring of commitments on gender and Indigenous Peoples, and provide knowledge, data, research and technical support for REDD+ implementation.
• CTreescoreTechnology or Integration · 8 February 2023CTrees is a nonprofit that delivers science-driven data on emissions and removals of forest carbon. GCF Task Force and CTrees signed an MOU to work together to promote increased transparency and accuracy of data on tropical deforestation and degradation, providing remote sensing and data tools to assist member governments in environmental management and governance decisions.
• Alianza MX (University of California Mexico Initiative)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 February 2023Alianza MX is a systemwide initiative of the University of California supporting research partnerships between US and Mexico. GCF Task Force and Alianza MX partnership advances partnerships between subnational governments and academic institutions, particularly through research universities in California and Mexico. Priority areas include developing knowledge exchanges, constructing metrics, and applied research agendas.
• Tropical Forest Alliance (TFA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTFA is a multi-stakeholder partnership platform hosted at the World Economic Forum supporting private sector commitments to remove deforestation from supply chains. The partnership leverages both networks to support jurisdictional efforts to tackle commodity-driven deforestation by enhancing dialogue between governments and private sector, increasing finance flows, and securing jurisdictional sourcing agreements.
• CDPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCDP is an international non-profit providing a global disclosure system for cities, states and regions to manage environmental impacts. The partnership allows collaboration on opportunities to enhance reporting, disclosure, and assessment of state and regional action on climate and forest, and exploring opportunities for mobilizing investments towards zero deforestation commodity production.
• Rainforest XPRIZEminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRainforest XPRIZE is a 5-year competition working to enhance understanding of rainforest ecosystems, with USD 10 million in prizes. GCF Task Force partnership with XPRIZE Foundation leverages relationships with governments, civil society, Indigenous Peoples and local communities to strengthen the competition, increase visibility, and promote indigenous community involvement.
• Masters of the Environment (MENV) at University of Colorado BoulderminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMENV is an interdisciplinary graduate program at University of Colorado Boulder. In 2020, MENV graduate students produced an investment strategy report and toolkit for creating a corporate pitch book in San Martín, Peru. The project and resources are available on the GCF Task Force website.
• UNAMAZ (Pan-Amazonian University Network)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNAMAZ is a Pan-Amazonian network establishing ongoing dialogue between universities and institutes of higher education in science, technology, education, innovation, and research. The partnership supports academic collaboration and knowledge exchange in the Amazon region.
• Science Panel for the Amazon (SPA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Science Panel for the Amazon collaborates with GCF Task Force on building a New Forest Economy. SPA participates in GCF Task Force Annual Meetings and engages in bioeconomy working groups. Joint efforts focus on public incentives and blended finance for sustainable value chains, cross-border collaboration, and coordinated value chains for high-value forest products.
• UNDP (United Nations Development Programme)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerUNDP was selected as the implementing partner for Norway's NOK 200M pledge to GCF Task Force. UNDP's REDD+ Team in Geneva supports subnational leaders working to reduce deforestation and promote low emissions development.
• University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerThe GCF Task Force Secretariat is housed at UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. UCLA provides institutional support and hosting for the global secretariat.
• University of Colorado BouldercoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerThe Masters of the Environment program at University of Colorado Boulder collaborated on investment strategy development for San Martin, Peru. Additional collaboration through Environmental Studies Program and Institute of Behavioral Science.
• Action for ForestsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAction for Forests collaborated with GCF Task Force on the Summit of Governors of the Amazon in Colombia, supporting technical cooperation around integrated fire management.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Tropical Forest Alliance: Multi-stakeholder partnership platform hosted at the World Economic Forum focused on removing deforestation from commodity supply chains. Directly comparable: GCF Task Force is a listed core partner of TFA, and both work with subnational governments and private sector on deforestation-free jurisdictional sourcing.
• Coalition for Rainforest Nations: Intergovernmental coalition of rainforest countries advocating for REDD+ and tropical forest conservation. Comparable mission (REDD+ policy leadership, convening tropical forest governments) and member base (sovereign nations rather than subnational jurisdictions).
• CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project): International non-profit providing global environmental disclosure for cities, states, and regions. Listed as a core partner of GCF Task Force; shares the climate and forest disclosure/assessment mission for subnational governments.
• CIFOR-ICRAF: Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry. Listed as a core MOU partner of GCF Task Force; shares the subnational land-use governance and forestry research mission and supplies technical knowledge to member jurisdictions.

Emerging players

• Earth Innovation Institute: NGO focused on jurisdictional approaches to sustainable development and forest protection in tropical regions. Close strategic alignment with GCF Task Force's jurisdictional strategies and partnerships with subnational governments in Brazil, Indonesia, and Peru.
• Forest Stewardship Council (FSC): International non-profit promoting responsible forest management through certification. Adjacent in scope (deforestation-free supply chains, jurisdictional forestry) but focused on standards/certification rather than convening subnational governments.
• Climate Action Tracker: Independent scientific assessment of government climate commitments. Compares as a related climate-policy research and accountability platform, though scoped to national-level commitments rather than jurisdictional forest work.

Broad incumbents

• The Nature Conservancy – Forests: Global conservation organization with major forest programs in tropical regions. Overlaps in jurisdictional approach to forest protection and climate finance with state/provincial governments, but operates as a much larger NGO with significant donor diversification.
• UN-REDD Programme: United Nations collaborative initiative on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation. Similar focus on REDD+ capacity building and policy support, but operates at national-government level with significantly larger institutional backing (UNDP, UNEP, FAO).
• World Resources Institute (WRI) – Global Forest Watch: WRI's Global Forest Watch is a leading open-source forest monitoring platform. Comparable in jurisdictional forest data and MRV focus, but operates as a much larger global data and research institution rather than a subnational government network.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCI4m4y7gTCa_o75aGBXNOaw
• Facebookfacebook.com/GCFTF
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/governors'-climate-&-forests-task-force-gcf-
• Instagraminstagram.com/gcf_taskforce

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Governors' Climate & Forests Task Force