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GEF pledges record of $500 m to back 88 countries in tackling environmental crises
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) pledged a record funding of $ 500 million to support 88 countries, in particular Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States, to drum up efforts to confront climate change and biodiversity.
The GEF funding will support the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) operation in these countries to address intense environmental and socio-economic shocks faced by people on frontlines of nature loss and the climate crisis.
In an immense milestone for the UNDP-GEF Partnership, UNDP will also help to operationalize GEF’s Small Grants Program, a key channel for supporting local communities, indigenous people and youth on environmental stewardship.
The new funding will be channeled to align strongly with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework targets for nature, scaling up efforts to finance from the public and private sector and tackle biodiversity loss and climate change mitigation as a priority. Resources will also be deployed to protect forest conservation, fight chemical and plastic pollution, and restore ecosystems, catalyzing sustainable blue and green pathways towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
“This groundbreaking funding is critical to support countries to urgently restore and manage biodiversity while adapting to a changing climate. UNDP welcomes the decision of GEF to scale up its cooperation and we’re committed to delivering on our ambitious plans. We need a quantum leap in climate action. We have improved our systems, expertise and expanded our network of partners. Now our commitment is to double-down on efforts to work with our partners to rapidly scale success and build on what works for people and planet”, said Haoliang Xu, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of UNDP’s Bureau for Program and Policy Support.
UNDP’s support to countries aims to set the stage to unlock an additional $9 billion in capital across 88 countries, from the public sector, private sector and development banks, by de-risking policy and providing incentives. This will enable businesses and Small and Medium Enterprises to thrive and transition towards more resilient, sustainable and low-carbon business practices. In addition, communities will receive more support to seize opportunities and protect and restore natural resources, nurturing biodiversity hotspots of global importance.
The new work program underscores the collective strength of the GEF partnership and the unique expertise and geographical coverage which members bring to the table. It includes over $137 million for the UNDP-implemented Small Grants Program, which builds on more than 30 years of work to channel funding directly to indigenous and other local communities, driving locally led action to enhance wellbeing, socioeconomic and environmental benefits.
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