Amid worry for the planet, GEF Assembly to propel bold collaboration for nature
The Global Environment Facility’s every-four-year gathering of 185 countries will take place in Vancouver at a time when the world is struggling to cope with record air and sea temperatures, deadly and destructive wildfires, and extreme flooding. At the top of the agenda? Setting a path to end nature loss and turn down the heat.
Attendees at international environmental meetings have grown accustomed to hearing warnings about the future – about risks to people and ecosystems if radical change does not occur.
The Seventh Assembly of the Global Environment Facility, which takes place in Vancouver Aug. 22-26, will stand out for its focus on the dangers of the present.
Environment leaders from 185 countries are gathering at a time of record-high land and ocean temperatures, out-of-control wildfires, and deadly flooding even in areas unaccustomed to weather extremes: a succession of disasters that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described as heralding the arrival of “an era of global boiling.”
The Assembly will chart a path forward through three dimensions: elevating the contributions of science to a healthier and more biodiverse planet; generating more funding from all sources to address biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution; and ensuring that environmental governance becomes more inclusive and focused on those who have been historically under-represented in this space, including youth, women, and Indigenous Peoples.
A highlight of the Assembly agenda will be the launch of the new Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF), which will provide a boost to developing countries’ investments in nature and support Indigenous Peoples and local communities in their pursuit of the ambitious goals agreed to at the Convention on Biological Diversity COP15 in December 2022.
The new fund, which the GEF Council agreed to establish just six months after world leaders reached the landmark agreement on nature preservation in Montreal, will be set up to accept donations from governments as well as from philanthropy and the private sector. Dedicated support will be provided to Indigenous Peoples for their critical role in conserving biodiversity.
The GEF will work to assist countries as they implement this historic agreement, adopted in New York in June, to preserve biodiversity in marine areas that lie outside national control.
Funding responsibility for the Global Biodiversity Framework and the BBNJ will broaden the GEF’s remit beyond supporting international action on climate change, land degradation, toxic chemicals, and mercury
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