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US$4.1 Billion GEF-7 Replenishment Revealed

Nations rally to protect global environment

By IW:LEARN

April 27^th, 2018

On April 25, 2018, countries have collectively pledged US$4.1 billion for the seventh replenishment of the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) trust fund.

Close to 30 countries gathered and decided to join forces to better protect the future of the planet and human well-being. With the health of the global environment worsening, the GEF has received strong support for its new four-year investment cycle, (known as GEF-7), to help safeguard the world’s forests, land, water, climate, and oceans, build green cities, protect threatened wildlife, and tackle new environmental threats like marine plastic pollution. The replenishment meetings provide an opportunity for Contributing Participants to review GEF performance and evaluate progress, assess future funding needs, and agree on a financing framework.

"We are pleased with the outcome of the negotiations; It is entirely in line with government priorities,” said Isabella Lovin, Deputy Prime Minister and Climate Minister of Sweden.

With an emphasis on addressing the drivers of environmental degradation, gender equality, and stronger collaboration with the private sector, the GEF is now poised to deliver even greater results for the environment, and better value for money: The new strategy doubles the target for greenhouse gas emissions mitigated from GEF projects compared to the last funding cycle, and increases by almost 50% the targets for the protection of biodiversity and valuable ecosystems.

“A clear majority of donors have stepped up their support for the GEF, signaling the urgency of the global environmental agenda, and trust in the GEF to help tackle the problem and achieve even greater results,” said Naoko Ishii, GEF CEO and Chairperson. “We need to forge the partnerships that will help transform the food, urban and energy systems in an integrated way. GEF-7 is designed to do just that,” she said.

The new funding will support countries to meet their obligations under various multilateral environmental agreements, including the recently adopted Minamata Convention on Mercury, the three Rio Conventions on Biodiversity, Climate, and Land Degradation, and the Stockholm Convention. Also, strong emphasis is given to financing for Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States.

In recent years, the world agreed on the Global Goals of Agenda 2030, and the Paris Agreement, elevating the ambition and action needed to put the world on a sustainable path. GEF-7 is the first replenishment of the GEF after these landmark agreements and another sign that the world is responding.

GEF-7 replenishment is expected to formally conclude during the GEF Assembly, which will convene next June (27-28), in Da Nang, Viet Nam.

You may access the original press release on the Global Environmental Facility's website: https://www.thegef.org/news/nations-rally-protect-global-environment

Learn more about GEF-7 replenishment:

At its 51st meeting in October 2016, the GEF Council requested the Trustee, in cooperation with the Secretariat, to initiate discussions on the seventh replenishment of resources of the GEF Trust Fund (GEF-7).

The Fourth GEF-7 Replenishment took place in Stockholm, Sweden from April 25, 2018.

Invited participants are existing and potential Contributing Participants, four representatives from non-donor recipient countries representing Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean, two NGO/CSO representatives each representing a donor country-based NGO/CSO and another representing a recipient country, two representatives of the private sector, and representatives of GEF Agencies and the conventions for which the GEF serves as a financial mechanism.