The first-ever projects financed by the newly established Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) will be discussed during the 67th Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council Meeting. These significant and diverse projects total USD 736.4 million in funding from the GEF family of funds for environmental initiatives in developing countries. The GBFF, operationalized less than a year after it was launched at the Seventh GEF Assembly in Vancouver, Canada, already has financial commitments from Canada, Germany, Japan, Luxembourg, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

The Council will consider funding for projects and programs focused on land health, chemicals, and sustainable cities, including:

• USD 495.6 million for 25 projects and programs through the GEF Trust Fund;
• USD 37.8 million for the GBFF’s first three projects in Brazil (two) and Mexico (one); and
• USD 203 million for 14 climate adaptation initiatives through the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF)—the largest work program in its history.

The proposed GEF Trust Fund financing package, unlocking USD 5.8 billion in co-financing and covering 65 countries, includes 25 initiatives and programs for:

• land restoration through the Great Green Wall Initiative, along with the LDCF;
• industrial chemicals in Brazil and Bolivia;
• sustainable cities globally; and
• a “coral bond” to be issued by the World Bank that builds on the “rhino bond” issued in 2022.

The LDCF will support 12 national projects and two multi-country programs addressing urgent climate change adaptation priorities in 17 least developed countries.

The GBFF will fund:

• Mex30x30, a project to conserve Mexican biodiversity through communities and their protected areas;
• the Caatinga Protected Areas Program in Brazil; and
• Biodiversity Conservation in Indigenous Lands in Brazil.

The Council will also consider:

• the report from the Working Group on the Streamlining Process on streamlining the GEF Project Cycle;
• the Gap Analysis of GEF Policies and Key Social Inclusion Issues; and
• the evaluation of GEF efforts to Combat Illegal Wildlife Trade.

The Council will meet in back-to-back Council meetings of the GEF Trust Fund, GBFF, LDCF, and Special Climate Change Fund, from Monday, 17 June, to Thursday, 20 June 2024 in Washington, DC, US. It will be preceded on Friday 14 June by the virtual GEF Consultation with Civil Society.

The Earth Negotiations Bulletin writers for this meeting are Tanya Rosen; Dina Hestad, Ph.D.; and Lynn Wagner, Ph.D. The Digital Editor is Ángeles Estrada. Video production by Tasha Goldberg and Felipe Ruiz. The Editor is Leila Mead.