The prize recognises projects tackling climate finance challenges and initiatives taken to address them.
The Global Capacity Building Coalition (GCBC), a collaborative initiative aimed at enhancing climate finance capacity, announced the three winners of its inaugural GCBC Accelerator cohort. Selected from a highly competitive pool of nearly 50 applications, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)-funded project Climate Compatible Growth, based at Loughborough University, was one of the three winners.
Climate Compatible Growth (CCG)’s Data-to-Deal (D2D) framework bridges the gap between national climate plans and investment-ready projects.
By embedding data-driven expertise within countries across Asia and Africa, CCG helps governments integrate climate and development goals while securing real financing. Already shown to unlock billions in investment, CCG, with the support of the GCBC Accelerator, aims to increase its support for country-owned, investment-ready strategies that deliver both decarbonization and social benefits such as healthcare, education, and rural electrification.
Professor Mark Howells, CCG Director and Professor of Systems Analysis for Sustainable Development at Loughborough University, said: “CCG has always been a partnership based on research informing practical action that leads to results. When we helped to develop Data-to-Deal and saw it secure $11 billion for South American countries, we knew that it represented a step change in how countries should approach securing climate finance.
“Since that moment, we have made it part of our mission to highlight the effectiveness of D2D and support countries in the Global South to embrace it in a way that reflects their individual needs. Using D2D ensures that a project actually is investment ready when it goes to financiers for consideration. We are delighted to be selected by the Accelerator, which recognises D2D as one of the approaches making a real difference. We hope to reach even more countries and support them on their way to sustainable and climate-friendly growth.”
CCG began as a £38m programme supporting investment in sustainable energy and transport systems to meet development priorities in the global south.
Working with national and international research partners, including the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge and Imperial College London, CCG aims to deliver the economic tools and decision support frameworks needed to make green transitions possible in countries in the Global South.
Professor Dan Parsons, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation said: "I'm absolutely delighted to see the CCG programme and all the hard work of colleagues at Loughborough University and our partner organisations has been recognised in this way, on the highest stage globally. Their work really is transforming lives and livelihoods across the world, in the face of the many challenges associated with climate change. Their work is key to unlocking the ability to decarbonise the global economy, and I'm incredibly proud of what they have achieved."
The three winners of the GCBC Accelerator offer practical, scalable solutions that strengthen institutions, mobilize resources, and direct capital to where it is needed most. The other winners were the Africa Adaptation Initiative (AAI) and Transforma which works in Latin America.
At a GCBC showcase event during New York Climate Week, the winners will present their approaches, discuss regional challenges, and connect with coalition members and partners. Each initiative will receive tailored resources, strategic guidance, and access to GCBC’s global network to help scale their capacity-building solutions.