Global Environment Facility (GEF)
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is an international financial mechanism focused on addressing global environmental issues through grants and concessional funding. Established in 1991, GEF collaborates with key partners, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the World Bank, to implement its programs. With participation from 184 countries as of 2024, GEF aims to combat challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, international water management, and ozone layer depletion.
Countries seeking GEF funding must meet specific eligibility criteria and be signatories to relevant environmental conventions. The GEF has supported over 600 climate-related initiatives, emphasizing greenhouse gas reduction and adaptation strategies for vulnerable regions. The organization has allocated substantial resources, including approximately $250 million annually for climate projects, and has facilitated the establishment of various funds under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Notably, in June 2022, GEF achieved a record $5.33 billion in funding commitments, reflecting growing global support for environmental sustainability efforts.
Global Environment Facility (GEF)
Mission
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) provides grants and concessional funds to recipient countries for projects and activities that protect the global environment. GEF programs focus on environmental problems involving climate change, biological diversity, international waters, and depletion of the ozone layer.
Jointly implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the World Bank, the GEF was launched as a pilot program in 1991. The GEF secretariat, which is functionally independent from the three implementing agencies, reports to the Council and Assembly of the GEF. The council is the main governing body and consists of representatives from thirty-two countries, eighteen of which receive GEF funds and fourteen of which are nonrecipient nations. Since 1994, any country that is a member of the United Nations or one of its specialized agencies has been able to become a GEF participant by filing a notification of participation with the GEF secretariat. By 2024, 184 countries were participating in the GEF program.
Countries may be eligible for GEF project funds in one of two ways: by meeting the eligibility requirements to borrow from the World Bank or to receive technical assistance funds from the UNDP or by meeting the eligibility requirements for financial assistance through either the Convention on Biological Diversity or the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). In either case, the country must also be a participant in the Convention on Biological Diversity or the UNFCCC to qualify for GEF funds.
The organizing principle of the GEF is that no new bureaucracy will be created to support it. The UNDP is responsible for technical assistance activities and helps identify projects and activities consistent with the GEF’s Small Grants Program, which awards Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and community groups around the world. Responsibility for initiating the development of scientific and technical analysis and for advancing environmental management of GEF-financed activities rests with the UNEP, as does the management of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel, which provides scientific and technical guidance to the GEF. The World Bank serves as the repository of the GEF trust fund and is responsible for investment projects. It also seeks resources from the private sector in accordance with GEF objectives.
GEF resources aim to facilitate projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, the ozone layer, and persistent organic pollutants. Projects and activities must be approved by the GEF Council. If at least four council members request a review of the final project documents, the council will conduct the review prior to granting approval of GEF funds.
Significance for Climate Change
By 2008, the GEF was supporting more than six hundred climate-change-related projects and programs in scores of around the world. These projects help those nations to contribute to the objective of the UNFCCC by supporting measures to reduce the risk or minimize the adverse effects of climate change. The climate-related projects GEF supports center on lowering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through adopting renewable energy sources, energy-efficient technologies, sustainable transportation methods, and clean energy sources.
The GEF also supports adaptation to climate change through programs that attempt to cope with the negative impacts of climate change faced by countries, regions, and communities at particular risk. In addition to allocating approximately $250 million per year for such projects, the GEF oversees several funds under the UNFCCC: the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF), and the Special Priority on Adaptation (SPA). The latter supports programs and projects that may be integrated into national policies and planning. The GEF also assists member nations in their communications with and reporting to the UNFCCC, including reports on GHG inventories.
Finally, the GEF sponsors outreach to educate the public. In December 2007, for example, the GEF joined forces with UNEP, the World Bank, Global Initiatives, and Artists’ Project Earth to create Fragile Planet, a video about human impact on climate change.
The GEF continued working on projects related to biodiversity and global climate change throughout the 2010s and 2020s. By 2024, the organization had provided more than $22 billion in grants. In June 2022, the GEF received record-breaking funding of more than $5 billion, which included pledges from about 30 donor governments. This marked a 29 percent increase from its last funding period.
Bibliography
Axelrod, Regina S., David Leonard Downie, and Norman J. Vig, eds. The Global Environment: Institutions, Law, and Policy. 2d ed. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2004.
"GEF-8 Replenishment Meeting Achieves Historic Level of $5.25 Billion." United Nations, 8 Apr. 2022, minamataconvention.org/en/news/gef-8-replenishment-meeting-achieves-historic-level-525-billion#. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.
Global Environment Facility. Valuing the Global Environment: Actions and Investments for a Twenty-first Century. Washington, D.C.: Author, 1998.
Horta, Korinna, and Robin Round. The Global Environment Facility—The First Ten Years: Growing Pains or Inherent Flaws? Sterling, Va.: Pluto Press, 2002.
Young, Zoe. A New Green Order? The World Bank and the Politics of the Global Environment Facility. Sterling, Va.: Pluto Press, 2002.