More than 30 nations pledged USD4.25 billion for the Global Environment Facility, making this the largest funding replenishment for the GEF.
The amount, according to the World Bank, represents a 52 percent increase in fresh resources and “the first significant multilateral step toward commitments in Copenhagen and in other key international environmental agreements.”
The new resources will support initiatives focused on climate change, biodiversity, international waters, land degradation, persistent organic pollutants, mercury and the ozone layer over the next four years. GEF will use the funding to lower carbon dioxide emissions by expanding sustainable management of protected areas and critical landscapes, strengthen multi-state cooperation on transboundary water systems management, reduce persistent organic pollutants in land and water, and expand and protect the Earth’s forest cover.
