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- Approved Trust Fund projects include efforts to remove mercury from industrial processes and skin lightening products; buoy ocean and freshwater health through collaborative governance; mobilize private sector investment, including through a new “Lemur Bond” for Madagascar; and advance a new GEF Small Grants Program Global Microfinance Initiative.
- LDCF support will strengthen the resilience and livelihoods of communities through transboundary landscape restoration and increase access to financing of micro, small, and medium enterprises for climate-resilient agriculture and food systems.
- GBFF projects in Central Africa and in Peru will support sustainable biodiversity management with Indigenous Peoples and local communities as decision-makers.
- Three-quarters of the record GEF-8 funding has now been allocated, with one year to go in the four-year financing period. The GEF-9 replenishment process has begun for the period stretching from July 2026 to June 2030, aligned with multiple international environmental goals’ timing. The next replenishment meeting will be held in Botswana in October 2025.
- Uzbekistan to host next GEF Assembly meeting, scheduled to start May 31, 2026.
The Global Environment Facility’s governing body has agreed to provide $261 million across its family of funds for efforts to propel international environmental goals, including projects targeting mercury and hydrofluorocarbons, building more resilient and healthier seascapes and landscapes, and expanding biodiversity conservation efforts in partnership with Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
Council members representing 186 participant countries approved the allocation of $195 million from the GEF Trust Fund, $40 million from the Least Developed Countries Fund, and $26 million from the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund. The support is set to mobilize more than $3 billion in co-financing from other sources.
Click here for a full list of approved projects and programs >>
The latest allocation will advance the goals of the six conventions the GEF is mandated to support – the Agreement on Marine Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, Convention on Biological Diversity, Minamata Convention on Mercury, Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, UN Convention to Combat Desertification, and UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
GEF CEO and Chairperson Carlos Manuel Rodríguez stressed during the meeting that growing pressures on ecosystems and economies worldwide required concerted and coordinated action in the final push to 2030 environmental goals and targets.
“The very real strains on nature and natural systems – showing up as fires, droughts, floods, contamination, species loss, and illness – have raised the stakes for our work,” Rodríguez said. “The GEF’s ninth replenishment is going to be vital to the achievement of international commitments on biodiversity, climate, and pollution, and the funding allocated this week is keeping us moving in an innovative, impactful direction.”
Three-quarters of the record $5.3 billion GEF-8 replenishment has now been programmed, with one year left in the four-year cycle. The latest Trust Fund work program spans 35 countries and will benefit 16 million people – more than half of them women. It includes support for a new GEF Small Grants Program Global Microfinance Initiative that will offer tailored funding solutions for locally-led work to address strains on nature and community resilience.
Meeting as the LDCF/SCCF Council, representatives approved $40 million in funding from the Least Developed Countries Fund for climate adaptation projects in the Solomon Islands and Uganda, and for a regional program in the Sahel focused on Mali and Chad. Council members also provided additional finance for ecosystem and community resilience in Madagascar, including support for the “Lemur Bond.” The latest approvals bring LDCF investments to over $618 million in the current four-year funding cycle.
The GBFF Council agreed to provide $26 million for projects supporting biodiversity and community well-being in Peru, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and in the Sangha Trinational – a forest connecting Central African Republic, Cameroon, and Congo-Brazzaville. All three projects will mobilize substantial support to Indigenous Peoples and local communities. To date, the GBFF has provided $202 million from its $211 in available funds, financing 40 projects including initiatives underway in Brazil, Gabon, and Mexico.
The Council meetings followed last month’s start of the GEF-9 replenishment process, when donor countries and partners gathered in Paris to discuss priorities and ambitions for the family of funds’ next four-year funding cycle, including a strong focus on efficiency, equity, versatility, and accessibility. The next formal replenishment meeting is scheduled to be held in Botswana from October 8-10, 2025. A final decision about the size and ambition of the GEF-9 funding envelope is expected to be taken in 2026.
Uzbekistan will host the 8th GEF Assembly meeting next year, scheduled for the week commencing May 31. Aziz Abdukhakimov, Uzbekistan’s Minister of Environment, expressed his country’s “full commitment and readiness” to host the once-every-four-year event that brings together representatives from all GEF member countries as well as stakeholders from around the world.
“Hosting the GEF Assembly in Samarkand reflects Uzbekistan’s strong commitment to global sustainability. We see this as a catalyst for innovative partnerships especially in Central Asia - where transboundary challenges require shared solutions,” Abdukhakimov told the Council. “With GEF-9 support, we will deepen regional cooperation to combat biodiversity loss, adapt to climate impacts and accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals.”
Joint summaries of Co-chairs:
About the Global Environment Facility
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) includes several multilateral funds working together to address the planet's most pressing challenges in an integrated way. Its financing helps developing countries address complex challenges and work towards meeting international environmental goals. Over the past three decades, the GEF has provided more than $26 billion in financing, primarily as grants, and mobilized another $153 billion for country-driven priority projects.
About the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF)
The Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) is the only multilateral fund dedicated exclusively to the urgent and unique adaptation needs of Least Developed Countries. The LDCF helps Least Developed Countries build systemic climate resilience across key sectors such as agriculture, water, food security, health, infrastructure, nature-based solutions, and climate information services. It strengthens national institutions, mobilizes finance at scale, and promotes whole-of-society engagement to deliver inclusive, locally led solutions. The LDCF has delivered more than $2.4 billion in grants to date – supporting the transition from incremental to transformational adaptation across 51 countries.
About the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF)
The Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) was established by the GEF at the request of parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity’s COP15 to support implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Launched at the Seventh GEF Assembly in 2023, the fund aims to help countries strengthen national-level biodiversity management, policy, governance, and resource mobilization, including blended finance to leverage private sector financing. The GBFF can receive contributions from public, private, and philanthropic sources. It has streamlined procedures to provide efficient and impactful support for developing countries towards biodiversity goals, with a target of having 20 percent of its funding to support biodiversity action led by Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
Media Contact
Alexandre Pinheiro Rego
Senior Communications Officer
arego@thegef.org
