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Representatives of the Global Environment Facility’s recipient and donor countries will meet Dec. 16-20 to consider more than $650 million for the management of chemical pollutants, climate adaptation needs, and other ecological challenges, including an expansion of support for Indigenous- and community-led environmental stewardship.
In a virtual meeting, Council members will review a proposed allocation of $554 million from the GEF Trust Fund, $92 million from the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), and $12 million from the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF), and review progress by the new Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF), which together are working to address inter-related environmental challenges.
It will be the last Council meeting before the kickoff of the replenishment process for GEF-9, the next four-year funding cycle for the Trust Fund that will span July 2026 to June 2030. During the session, representatives of the GEF’s 186 member countries will take stock of progress made over the past two years and discuss planned reforms to keep speeding up and streamlining funding processes to ensure efficiency, impact, and continued low costs.
A monitoring report prepared for the Council shows that between fiscal years 2022 and 2024, GEF funding supported more than 130 million hectares of terrestrial and marine protected areas, improved sustainable land management practices on 25 million hectares of productive landscapes, and averted 840 million tons of greenhouse gases.
“At just over halfway through the GEF-8 funding cycle, we are well on the way to meet all 10 of our environmental results targets – and have already surpassed three. We will continue moving quickly and effectively to ensure positive and lasting change, connecting the dots between environmental priorities and focusing on reform for even greater results,” said Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, CEO and Chairperson of the GEF.
“This work program is an important next step as we seek to move the needle in pursuit of meeting 2030 global goals, recognizing the important place of pollution and chemicals management alongside our efforts to address the underlying drivers of biodiversity loss and climate change. This integrated approach is the key to making a difference that lasts, and it lays the groundwork for our ambitious and important work ahead in the GEF-9 period.”
The GEF was created ahead of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit to provide the financial means for developing countries to take action on urgent biodiversity, climate, and pollution challenges and generate global environmental benefits. In the three decades since, its remit has grown to include mercury, persistent organic pollutants, and marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
Its family of funds, including the GEF Trust Fund, GBFF, LDCF, SCCF, Nagoya Protocol Implementation Fund, and Capacity-building Initiative for Transparency, are designed to work in tandem to meet needs in an integrated, inclusive way, and efficient way, leveraging the strength of the GEF Secretariat and its policies to ensure high quality standards.
The latest GEF Trust Fund work program to be reviewed by Council members includes 31 projects and programs in 133 countries, spanning 98 percent of the world’s Least Developed Countries and 95 percent of all Small Island Developing States. The largest portion is proposed for chemical pollutant and waste management initiatives, including agrochemicals efforts, PCB elimination, and waste management in the tourism industry.
Other proposed funding will support biodiversity, climate change, and land degradation projects and programs, including efforts to protect marine and terrestrial ecosystems, improve shared freshwater resources, and reduce carbon emissions, including through clean hydrogen. It includes added support for the GEF Small Grants Programme, including a new civil society organization challenge program to boost environmental initiatives involving women, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and youth. Council members will also review a second phase of the Inclusive Conservation Initiative to strengthen targeted support for Indigenous Peoples and local communities and increase funding for their stewardship of territories, ecosystems, natural resources, and biodiversity.
Meeting as the LDCF/SCCF Council, government representatives will consider seven projects and two programs for the LDCF, and one project and one program for the SCCF, continuing the targeted climate adaptation support these GEF-hosted funds provide.
Finally, meeting as the 3rd Global Biodiversity Framework Fund Council, representatives will discuss recent progress on programming for biodiversity projects and on the governance of the new fund established at the request of parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity two years ago in Montreal.
The Council meeting follows the most recent Convention on Biological Diversity Conference of the Parties, in Cali, as well as COPs for climate change in Baku and for desertification in Riyadh, plus ongoing negotiations on a new global plastics agreement.
Over the course of the week, the Council will include a session with the heads of the multilateral environmental conventions that the GEF is a financial mechanism for, and reports from the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel and Independent Evaluation Office. Council members will also discuss proposals on streamlining the GEF project and program cycle with the goal of continuing to simplify processes for greater, faster impact.
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