U.S. Contribution to the Global Environment Facility

The United States on August 7, 2002 pledged $500 million over the next four years for the Global Environment Facility (GEF).  The commitment is a 16 percent increase over the U.S. contribution to the previous replenishment.  This, in turn, will help leverage about $2.2 billion in total new donor contributions.

The GEF, established in 1991, funds projects that promote clean and efficient energy use (including reduction of greenhouse gases), conserve biodiversity, clean up international waters and phase out ozone-depleting chemicals.   New focal areas to be included in the upcoming replenishment period will help combat problems caused by persistent organic pollutants, which pose a particular threat in areas in the northern United States, and fight land degradation with a focus on desertification and deforestation in some of the world's poorest countries. The United States is the largest contributor to the GEF.

The U.S. pledge includes $107.5 million per year for each of the four years of the replenishment period, plus another $70 million in the fourth year if the GEF meets a set of performance measurements agreed by donors.  In addition, President Bush is requesting $70.3 million from Congress annually for the next three years to pay off U.S. arrears accumulated during the previous replenishment period.

One hundred seventy-three states are participating in the GEF. Other countries contributing to the GEF in this replenishment period are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Cote d’Ivoire, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

During the replenishment negotiations, the United States actively pursued measures to improve the effectiveness of GEF assistance, and reached agreement to establish a transparent, performance-based allocation system that emphasizes country policies and institutional structures essential to effective assistance.  Consensus was also reached on projecting and tracking measurable results, developing a private sector strategy, creating an independent monitoring and evaluation unit, and opening up competition for GEF projects.