This week, 185 countries of the world are gathering in Vancouver, Canada at the seventh Assembly of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to deliberate on the next phase of environmental funding for the developing world. The GEF is considered by some measures as the world’s largest assemblage of multilateral trust funds to support environmental projects in developing countries, held in trusteeship by the World Bank. Since its inception in 1992, the GEF has spent over $30 billion in direct funds for environmental projects and leveraged an additional $100 billion of matching or in-kind support from the public and private sectors.
There is also a separate “Green Climate Fund” (The GCF) which has received around $10 billion in confirmed commitments (from an aspirational $100 billion financing target by 2020, when it was launched in 2010). The GCF is managed independently but has begun greater cooperation with the GEF within this past year. Ensuring coherence of environmental funding is vitally important to ensure efficiency and effectiveness. A major accomplishment of the GEF secretariat and the current CEO, Carlos Manuel Rodriguez has been to ensure that the new Global Biodiversity Framework Fund, which was announced in December 2022 would be managed within the ambit of the GEF. The Assembly in Vancouver will also be a launching pad for this new Fund which aspires to reach $30 billion in funding by 2030.
The GEF’s origins go back to the momentous Earth Summit in 1992 where three major environmental treaties were signed under the auspices of the United Nations (UN): The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); The Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Convention on Desertification. Since its inception, the GEF’s mandate has also encompassed a few other environmental treaties related to chemical pollution and international transboundary waters. The due diligence process set forth at its establishment assembled a Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP) to evaluate proposals before they are approved, and an Independent Evaluation Office to consider impact metrics at project commencement and conclusion.
The total committed funds for GEF projects is still very small compared with the aspirational goals of climate and biodiversity financing, and in comparison, with other international spending priorities. Just as the GEF replenishment of five-year funds for a record $5.3 billion was being announced in 2022, the Stockholm Peace Research Institute also noted that the global military spending had reached a record $2 trillion for just that year! Furthermore, it is worth noting that among the eight countries (out of 193 UN member states) who have not joined the GEF, are two major economic powers in the Gulf — Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Qatar joined the GEF only last year. While the Gulf countries have certainly improved their sustainability performance, further efforts are needed to bring them within the GEF donor’s circle and have complete global unity on this important institution. The UAE’s hosting of the COP28 summit, as well as their commendable support and hosting of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), may provide an important opportunity for engagement in this regard as well.
For four years (2018-2022) I had the privilege of serving on the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel of the GEF, and reviewing hundreds of proposals submitted by 18 GEF “Lead Agencies” and host governments alongside private sector and civil society partners. What these projects have been able to accomplish with relatively modest resources is impressive. For the general public, it is also reassuring to see that full details on all the medium and major scale projects ever funded by the GEF (almost 6000 projects) can be found on the website portal with evaluative documents and impact metrics. There are also “scorecards” produced by the secretariat against targets which reflect a commitment to transparency and accountability. Among the global powers with intense geopolitical tensions, the United States, China and Russia are all part of the GEF, and should also strive to find opportunities for ecological cooperation at the Assembly this week. At a time when there is so much cynicism about environmental conservation, the achievements of the GEF should give us measured hope for planetary prosperity.
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