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WASHINGTON, April 22, 2012 – Monique Barbut, CEO and Chairperson of the Global Environment Facility, issued the following statement on the occasion of Earth Day:
On Earth Day 2012, it is remarkable to reflect upon how young the environmental movement is. It was only 50 years ago that Rachel Carson's Silent Spring launched the environmental movement by drawing attention to the harmful effects of chemical pesticides on birds and other animals. Forty-two years ago, citizen organizers held the first Earth Day, an event that helped bring about the first Earth Summit – the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro – in 1992. This June the environmental movement returns to Rio, bringing with it new priorities and a deeper understanding of the challenges facing our planet and how to address them.
In these challenging economic times, establishing sound financial underpinnings for environmental programs is critical to earning the public confidence and support the programs need to succeed. At the same time, the global environmental movement is becoming a much more powerful, capable force with countries such as Brazil, Russia, India and China now able to make significant contributions to progress. Also, our understanding of the importance of working with local communities and groups such as women and indigenous peoples is also far greater than it was at the first Earth Summit.
I believe there is today a much greater awareness of the importance of environmental priorities to achieving sustainable economic growth. But that awareness has not yet been fully integrated into economic activity. As we celebrate Earth Day, let us turn our energies toward transforming our good intentions, our sensitivity to environmental priorities, into action. The aim is not just to win political arguments but to achieve actual results. This represents our key challenges going forward.
The GEF unites 182 countries in partnership with international institutions, civil society organizations (CSOs), and the private sector to address global environmental issues while supporting national sustainable development initiatives. Today the GEF is the largest public funder of projects to improve the global environment. It has awarded $10.5 billion in grants and leveraged $51 billion in co-financing for over 2,700 projects in over 165 countries. Through its Small Grants Programme (SGP), the GEF has also made more than 14,000 small grants directly to civil society and community based organizations, totaling $634 million. For more information, visit www.thegef.org.
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Contact:
Mr. John Diamond
Senior Communication Officer | Spokesperson
Phone +1 202 458 7953
E-mail: jdiamond@thegef.org
Press Release No. 2012/9
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