Marking the 30th anniversary of the Global Environment Facility’s establishment, representatives of 184 member countries approved new projects supported by the GEF and Least Developed Countries Fund and welcomed the heads of five international environmental conventions who shared their priorities for the post-pandemic period. The GEF Council also endorsed a roadmap for long-term complementarity with the Green Climate Fund.

Representatives of 184 countries have approved a new work program for the Least Developed Countries Fund, which together with the Special Climate Change Fund has provided more than $2 billion to date for the urgent climate resilience needs of small and vulnerable economies.

The heads of five international environmental conventions – on climate change, biodiversity, desertification, chemical pollutants, and mercury – joined the Global Environment Facility’s governing body to discuss their 2021 priorities and pledged to work together in new and more collaborative ways to address the planet’s urgent and inter-related challenges.

The latest work program will help developing countries’ clean, resilient, blue, and green recovery from COVID-19, with targeted support for marine biodiversity, fisheries, chemical management, biodiversity, climate change, landscapes, e-mobility, green buildings, and mercury-free mining.

Developing countries’ climate change adaptation needs are vast, growing, and increasingly urgent.