Environment and Energy

Global Environment Facility (GEF)

Since 1991, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through its implementing agencies, UNDP, UNEP, and the World Bank, has provided grants to developing countries and countries with economies in transition to address global environmental problems while in the pursuit of sustainable development. As the operator of the financial mechanism for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the GEF finances the incremental costs of securing global environmental benefits in the climate change area--consistent with national sustainable development goals and priorities. The GEF is currently the largest source of funding for energy and climate change projects for UNDP. For more information on these and other UNDP energy and climate change projects go to UNDP in Action.

UNDP-GEF focuses its primary efforts on building capacity to enable developing country Governments and civil society to take actions required to respond to the challenges of global climate change. UNDP-GEF projects are currently strengthening more than 2,000 institutions worldwide to meet the challenges of global climate change. GEF's Operational Strategy sets our four long-term operational programmes in the climate change focal area:

• Operational Programme 5: Removing barriers to energy conservation and energy efficiency;

• Operational Programme 6: Promoting renewable energy by removing barriers and reducing implementation costs;

• Operational Programme 7: Reducing the long-term costs of low greenhouse gas-emitting energy technologies; and

• Operational Programme 11: Promoting sustainable transport

UNDP is also the sole Implementing Agency for the GEF funded Small Grants Programme, which provides grants up to $50,000 for community-based climate change and related land degradation projects.

For further information, please visit UNDP’s GEF website at: www.undp.org/gef