Global Environment Facility

Global Environment Facility

Formation	October 15, 1991; 32 years ago (1991-10-15)
Type	Fund
Focus	Environment
Location	Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America
Area served	Worldwide
Membership	186 member countries[1]
Key people	Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, CEO and Chairperson
Budget	USD 5.25 billion (2022-2026)[2]
Website	www.thegef.org

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a multilateral environmental fund that provides grants and blended finance for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), mercury, sustainable forest management, food security, and sustainable cities in developing countries and countries with economies in transition. It is the largest source of multilateral funding for biodiversity globally and distributes more than $1 billion a year on average to address inter-related environmental challenges.

The GEF was established ahead of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit and includes 184 countries in partnership with international institutions, civil society organizations, and the private sector. It supports country-driven sustainable development initiatives in developing countries that generate global environmental benefits. To date, the GEF has provided more than $22 billion in grants and mobilized another $120 billion in co-financing for more than 5,200 projects and programs. Through its Small Grants Programme (SGP), the GEF has provided support to nearly 27,000 civil society and community initiatives in 136 countries.^[3] In June 2022, donors to the GEF pledged a record $5.33 billion in support for its latest four-year replenishment cycle, which runs until June 2026.

In addition to funding projects through grants and blended finance, the GEF also serves as a financial mechanism for the following conventions:

• Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
• United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
• Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants
• Minamata Convention on Mercury

The GEF also supports implementation of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (MP).