By Yandra França (CFC-GS/UFPA)
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is an initiative established in 1991 following the Earth Summit (Eco-92) as a pilot program of the World Bank, designed as an international initiative to finance projects addressing global environmental challenges.
Operating as a multilateral fund (Learn more about multilateral funds), it pools resources from various countries, financial organizations, and international institutions to promote environmental sustainability and economic development. It is crucial for environmental recovery, particularly for countries in the Global South. Currently, the fund has 183 member countries; donor countries have pledged an initial contribution of $3.9 billion to the Fund during the ninth replenishment cycle—the period in which the Fund is currently operating—reaffirming their commitment to meeting international environmental goals.
The GEF has already allocated more than $13 billion to approximately 4,000 projects in over 150 countries, including Brazil. It serves as a financing mechanism for major climate conventions, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which is one of the foundations of the CFC-GS’s tracker. Furthermore, the GEF also supports institutional strengthening in countries, technical capacity building, and the formulation of public environmental policies. Donor countries contribute on a voluntary basis, and these resources are channeled through two main streams:
- STAR (System for Transparent Allocation of Resources): Resources allocated directly to countries based on technical criteria, determining the amount of funding a country can access during a replenishment period.
- Set-aside: Resources earmarked for global, regional, or thematic projects, allocated according to priorities and needs in different thematic areas.
For the most part, the Fund provides financing to support government projects and programs, and governments decide on the implementing agencies, with four types of projects:
- Large-Scale Projects (FSP): with GEF project funding exceeding five million U.S. dollars.
- Medium-Scale Projects (MSP): GEF project funding of up to five million US dollars.
- Capacity-Building Activity (AH): A project to develop a plan, strategy, or report to fulfill commitments made under a convention.
- Program: A strategic, long-term arrangement of individual yet interconnected projects aimed at achieving large-scale impacts on the global environment.
Furthermore, it structures its operations around five focal areas: Biodiversity, climate change, land degradation, international waters, and chemicals and waste. Currently, the GEF has been investing in new financial solutions, such as climate finance, with the aim of attracting private sector resources to fund sustainable projects; concurrently, it works to empower local communities, promote social inclusion, and ensure that projects are tailored to the needs of vulnerable populations. In Brazil, the Amazon Fund is one of the initiatives that receives financial support from the GEF to promote the conservation of the Amazon and combat deforestation.
Finally, as climate challenges become more complex, the fund has been prioritizing new areas, such as the restoration of degraded ecosystems. In summary, the GEF remains one of the international community’s key allies in the fight against climate change and the promotion of sustainability. Alongside it, there are other tools dedicated to this cause; to learn more about them, visit our blog. For accurate data on climate finance, visit our tracker, and stay up to date on developments regarding financing in the Global South.
REFERENCES
https://www.gov.br/fazenda/pt-br/assuntos/fundos-internacionais-de-desenvolvimento/fundo-global-para-o-meio-ambiente-gef/sobre-o-gef
