Highlights and images for 4 June 2026

The world faces interconnected environmental challenges that “know no borders and require collective action at an unprecedented scale.” The opening remarks of Aziz Abdukhakimov, Advisor to the President of Uzbekistan on Environment and Chairman, National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change, upon his election as Chair of the eighth Global Environment Facility (GEF) Assembly, set the stage for the day’s deliberations.

Want to dig deeper into today's talks? Read the full Earth Negotiations Bulletin daily report.

In a high-level opening ceremony, Saida Mirziyoyeva, Head of the Presidential Administration, Uzbekistan, on behalf of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, welcomed participants to the ancient city of Samarkand, the “bridge between the East and the West.” She described Uzbekistan’s ecological transformation as a new model for development and presented initiatives on: air quality protection; biodiversity conservation and protected areas; waste management; and environmental education, research, and innovation. 

Inger Andersen, Executive Director, UN Environment Programme (UNEP), also speaking on behalf of the GEF agencies, highlighted that the GEF was created from the recognition that environmental challenges transcend national borders and emphasized that the GEF’s science-based solutions have reached communities, protected nature, underwritten resilience, and helped governments deliver their commitments, through local, national, and regional actions.

Speaking for the GEF conventions, Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary, Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions, underlined the GEF translates convention commitments into reality. He welcomed the new GEF guidance on integrated programming and whole-of-society approach as major steps forward, adding that “non-grant instruments are no longer optional if we are to move into scale.”

GEF Interim CEO Claude Gascon noted the symbolism of convening in Samarkand, the “jewel of the silk road,” where peoples, ideas, and commerce have converged over the centuries to solve the challenges of their times. He urged participants to “seize this moment together with solidarity, courage, and respect for those who came before us, and determination to leave a better world for those who are yet to come.”

In the opening session, delegates, among other things:

• elected the meeting’s Chair and Vice-Chairs;
• adopted the agenda and approved the organization of work;
• took note of the Eighth Overall Performance Study (OPS8) of the GEF, presented by Geeta Batra, Director, GEF Independent Evaluation Office (IEO);
• took note of the Scientific Technical Advisory Panel’s (STAP) report, presented by STAP Chair Rosina Bierbaum;
• heard statements by representatives of civil society, Indigenous Peoples, women, and youth; and
• took note of the reports on the eighth replenishment of the GEF Trust Fund (GEF-8) funding retrospective and on the GEF-9 negotiations.

The remainder of the day was devoted to a series of roundtables that will feed into a final High-level Plenary. The roundtables are convening under nine themes addressing the diverse yet interconnected pillars for delivering GEF-9 ambitions and policy directions, in the final push toward 2030. Each roundtable brought together ministers, heads of international organizations, and representatives of civil society, Indigenous Peoples, and local communities, aiming to present forward-looking solutions to the triple planetary crisis and delve into critical dimensions that collectively shape the global environmental response.

The first day of roundtable discussions focused on:

• how blended finance and the private sector can bridge the funding gap;
• accelerating delivery for environmental outcomes;
• how the GEF can leverage the conventions and its family of funds to deliver on the 2030 goals;
• leaving no country behind: small island developing states, least developed countries, fragile, and vulnerable countries; and
• forging partnerships for land and water in Central Asia and beyond.