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- In Samarkand, Uzbekistan, representatives of the Global Environment Facility’s 186 participant countries will consider more than $200 million in support from across the family of funds in the last funding tranche of GEF-8.
- Council members are expected to welcome the successful conclusion of the GEF-9 replenishment and endorse the programming directions and policy recommendations for the July 2026 to June 2030 period, when a burst of environmental action is set to occur.
- The meetings of the GEF, LDCF/SCCF, and GBFF Councils will precede the Eighth GEF Assembly in Uzbekistan, where the final push to 2030 goals will be in focus, alongside an emphasis on blended finance and civil society leadership.
The governing bodies of the Global Environment Facility family of funds will gather May 31 through June 3 to consider more than $200 million in support, and to endorse plans to accelerate environmental action over the next four years.
Meeting in Samarkand, representatives of the GEF’s 186 participant countries are set to review a proposed allocation of $129.5 million from the multilateral trust fund as well as $64.7 million from the Least Developed Countries Fund, $2.9 million from the Special Climate Change Fund, and $20.5 million from the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund.
They will also welcome donor government contributions pledged for work in GEF-9, the funding period from July 2026 through June 2030 that aligns with a final push to meet goals across the six multilateral environmental agreements the family of funds supports.
The Council meetings will immediately precede the Eighth GEF Assembly in Uzbekistan, where the sprint to 2030 will be in focus.
Council members will be reviewing the final work programs to be considered under the GEF-8 period, which ends in June 2026. With this proposed funding, plus support for enabling activities supporting countries’ planning and policy work, about 97 percent of the record $5.3 billion GEF-8 envelope will be allocated.
The final round of proposed GEF-8 support from the multilateral trust fund spans 19 countries. With these efforts, the GEF will have met or exceeded core impact indicators on marine protected area protection and creation, improved management of shared water ecosystems, restoration of land and terrestrial ecosystems, and other areas including pollution management and abatement in the current four-year cycle.
Priority initiatives to be considered for new funding by the GEF Council include large-scale ocean conservation activities through the Blue Nature Alliance and support for community leadership on biodiversity through the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund. The proposed package also includes innovative blended finance for Uzbekistan related to renewable energy and its storage, and high-impact support for countries including Niue, the Solomon Islands, and Zimbabwe.
The trust fund work program is expected to mobilize more than $828 million, with each GEF dollar matched with $6.40 in co-financing. In addition to the work program, the Council is set to receive and acknowledge $200 million in smaller-sized projects that have moved forward with GEF Interim CEO approval since the beginning of the year.
Meeting as the LDCF/SCCF Council, representatives will consider funding for seven projects from the Least Developed Countries Fund and one from the Special Climate Change Fund. The proposed initiatives would support adaptation priorities in Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Niue, Senegal, Solomon Islands, Sudan, and Togo, also mobilizing nearly $218 million in co-financing.
These projects are set to help countries reduce flood and coastal risks, support food security, protect biodiversity, improve disaster preparedness, and expand economic opportunities for vulnerable communities, including through investment in sustainable infrastructure and resilient ecosystems. Together, the initiatives will highlight the role of the LDCF and SCCF as dedicated, grant-based funds helping vulnerable countries translate adaptation priorities into practical, investable action.
Council members are also expected to endorse the GEF-9 LDCF/SCCF Programming Strategy, which sets out two financial scenarios for each fund – ranging from $1 billion to $1.3 billion for the LDCF, and from $200 million to $300 million for the SCCF – and introduces operational improvements to strengthen access, delivery, innovation, and finance mobilization, positioning the LDCF and SCCF to provide more predictable, catalytic support for Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States.
Finally, the GBFF Council will consider two projects aligned with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework targets – one in Papua New Guinea and one in India. It will also review a new resource mobilization strategy that relates to governments, the private sector, and philanthropy, and will discuss an Independent Evaluation Office assessment of the nearly three-year-old fund.
This fourth work program of the GBFF continues to support its portfolio target of at least 20 percent of total project financing directed to support actions by Indigenous Peoples and local communities. Some 39 percent of the proposed GBFF project financing to be presented in Uzbekistan is directed to this purpose.
The Eighth GEF Assembly, held in Samarkand, will officially open on June 4 and is set to include a series of high-level plenary meetings, roundtables, and side events focused on the final sprint to 2030 environmental goals. The Assembly is the flagship gathering of the GEF partnership, occurring approximately every four years and bringing together government officials, policymakers, civil society, and the private sector.
During the Assembly, the GEF’s member countries will take note of the report of the ninth replenishment of the trust fund. Participants in Uzbekistan will also showcase successful projects and innovations across regions and sectors. This will include a Civil Society Organizations Forum on June 3, co-organized with the GEF CSO Network and Indigenous Peoples Advisory Group. The forum’s deliberations are set to feed into the Assembly sessions, including proposals on ways to boost civil society engagement and support and ensure that investments in the environment yield positive results that endure.
The six multilateral environmental conventions the GEF serves are the Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Minamata Convention on Mercury, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
