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Today, the GEF celebrates World Environment Day alongside its partners, agencies, donor and recipient countries.
This year, World Environment Day is celebrated within the context of the UN Declared Decade of Sustainable Energy for All, debuted in 2014 and launched yesterday in New York by Ban Ki-Moon with the participation of GEF CEO Naoko Ishii.
On this day, the GEF would like to highlight some of its partnerships and its work in the field of energy efficiency - an issue that affects both the environment and financing.
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The GEF has been committed to improving energy efficiency and sustainability as a pivotal way to overcome global climate change challenges. GEF investments in energy efficiency reflect the vision of the GEF as a partner of choice and a champion of the global commons, while the challenges posed by the rising energy demand underscore the GEF’s determination to scale up our activities to deliver benefits globally.
Naoko Ishii, the CEO and Chairperson of the Global Environment Facility, announced funding support for two energy efficiency accelerators in partnership with the EBRD and UNEP.
“These two efficiency accelerators are designed to build global coalitions of public sector, private sector, and NGOs to rapidly scale up successful efficiency technologies in a variety of sectors,” said Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson of the GEF. “By supporting these global coalitions, the GEF will enable countries around the world to have access to best practices, policy and technology toolkits, and finance to support energy efficiency investments.”
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GEF support will cover the following initiatives:
- In partnership with the EBRD, the GEF is providing US$2 million to support the development of the Global Energy Efficiency Financing Facility. This Facility will build a network of banks with the capacity to support SMEs by adopting and financing energy efficiency projects. The Facility will also benefit from the involvement of local partners within each country, and from the expertise of the EBRD’s established network of 80 energy efficiency financing banks that operate throughout Central Europe, Central Asia, and Southern and Eastern Mediterranean regions.
- The GEF is partnering with the UNEP and the International Copper Association to prepare a new accelerator for the Energy Efficient Equipment and Appliances Project. Thanks to the GEF’s support of US$1.4 million, this initiative will see a quick start that models on the successful en.lighten initiative to attract public and private sector partners. The Project will also analyze the potential for energy savings and emissions reductions from efficient appliances in all countries, and document best practices for regulatory policy and incentives.
Over two decades the GEF has transitioned from being a pilot project to becoming the standard in financial mechanisms for environmental conventions worldwide. Projects backed by the GEF have touched millions of people and helped catalyze global environmental benefits. In the area of climate finance, the GEF has worked with partners around the globe to provide complementary climate finance, and has funded thousands of projects.
In the aftermath of the Fifth GEF Assembly that took place in Mexico last week, the GEF also celebrates the new resources approved for the sixth replenishment phase. Its record-breaking US$4.43 billion represents a strong vote of confidence in the GEF by its donors. Mexico has doubled its contribution as a sign of strong support for this multilateral fund, and as an invitation to other nations to deepen our efforts to address global environmental challenges.
Article in Spanish / Artículo En Español
Contact:
Mr. Christian Hofer
Senior Communication Officer
Phone: +1 202 458 0936
E-mail: chofer@thegef.org