The Conference of the Parties,
1. Welcomes the report of the Global Environment Facility to the Conference of the Parties at its twenty-seventh session and its addendum, including the response of the Global Environment Facility to the guidance received from the Conference of the Parties;
2. Also welcomes the work undertaken by the Global Environment Facility during the reporting period 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022, including:
(a) The approval of 86 climate change projects and programmes under the Global Environment Facility Trust Fund, the Least Developed Countries Fund and the Special Climate Change Fund;
(b) The continued integration of climate change priorities into its other focal areas and integrated programmes and the expected avoidance or sequestration of 76.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent achieved through such integration;
(c) The continued implementation of the Long-term Vision on Complementarity, Coherence and Collaboration between the Green Climate Fund and the Global Environment Facility;
(d) The creation of a competitive window in the System for Transparent Allocation of Resources amounting to 8 per cent of the System for Transparent Allocation of Resources allocation for the five top recipient countries under this system;
3. Further welcomes the conclusion of the eighth replenishment of the Global Environment Facility with USD 5.33 billion, while noting that overall resources available for programming for the climate change focal area in the eighth replenishment increased by 6 per cent compared with the resources available in the seventh replenishment;
4. Welcomes the integrated programming approach of the Global Environment Facility across all five of its focal areas,3 which should help it to maximize the global environmental benefits of its support;
5. Notes the adoption of the private sector engagement strategy4 by the Global Environment Facility Council at its 59th meeting and the renewed non-grant instrument under the eighth replenishment of the Global Environment Facility and encourages the Global Environment Facility to enhance its efforts to mobilize and engage with the private sector during the eighth replenishment period;
6. Welcomes the increased allocation of resources to small island developing States and the least developed countries in the eighth replenishment of the Global Environment Facility under the System for Transparent Allocation of Resources, including through harmonizing the small island developing State floors with the least developed country floors and raising these floors to USD 8 million;
7. Appreciates the efforts of the Global Environment Facility secretariat to scale up adaptation finance for small island developing States through the designation of a dedicated window under the Special Climate Change Fund for supporting the adaptation needs of small island developing States and encourages continued and increased voluntary contributions of financial resources to the Least Developed Countries Fund and the Special Climate Change Fund in line with the Global Environment Facility’s 2022–2026 programming strategy on adaptation to climate change for the Least Developed Countries Fund and the Special Climate Change Fund;
8. Also encourages the Global Environment Facility, in administering the Least Developed Countries Fund and the Special Climate Change Fund, to support developing country Parties in implementing national adaptation plans and other national adaptation planning processes and urges developed country Parties to increase their voluntary contributions to the Least Developed Countries Fund and the Special Climate Change Fund;
9. Encourages the Global Environment Facility to work towards implementing its programming strategy on adaptation to climate change for the Least Developed Countries Fund and the Special Climate Change Fund during the eighth replenishment of the Global Environment Facility so as to effectively assist developing countries;
10. Requests the Global Environment Facility to continue to foster greater diversity of its implementing agencies, building on the comparative advantages of the various agencies and taking into account recipient country priorities;
11. Calls on the Global Environment Facility to enhance its support, within its mandate, for implementing the enhanced Lima work programme on gender and its gender action plan;
12. Encourages the Global Environment Facility secretariat to recommend further streamlining measures aimed at reducing transaction costs for all implementing agencies, reducing administrative costs, and facilitating increased access by multilateral development banks;
13. Requests the Global Environment Facility to report on its efforts to deliver the increased per project funding ceiling under its Small Grants Programme agreed on during the eighth replenishment process;
14. Welcomes the Global Environment Facility’s commitment to maintain an ambitious level of direct and indirect climate co-benefits in its eighth replenishment;
15. Requests the Global Environment Facility to further explore ways to provide support to developing country Parties for assessing their needs and priorities in a country-driven manner, including technology and capacity-building needs, and for translating climate finance needs into action; 16. Urges the further enhancement of the support provided by the Global Environment Facility for activities related to technology training, funding for technology development and transfer and capacity-building;
17. Encourages the continuing engagement of the Global Environment Facility with the Green Climate Fund, including in implementing the Long-term Vision on Complementarity, Coherence and Collaboration between the Green Climate Fund and the Global Environment Facility;
18. Requests the Global Environment Facility, as appropriate, to ensure that its policies and procedures related to the consideration and review of funding proposals are duly followed in an efficient manner;
19. Invites Parties to submit their views and recommendations on elements of guidance for the Global Environment Facility via the submission portal7 no later than 10 weeks prior to the twenty-eighth session of the Conference of the Parties (November–December 2023);
20. Requests the Standing Committee on Finance to take into consideration the submissions referred to in paragraph 19 above when preparing its draft guidance for the Global Environment Facility for consideration by the Conference of the Parties at its twentyeighth session and the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement at its fifth session (November–December 2023);
21. Also requests the Global Environment Facility to include in its annual report to the Conference of the Parties information on the steps it has taken to implement the guidance provided in this decision;
22. Takes note of decision -/CMA.48 and decides to transmit to the Global Environment Facility the guidance from the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement contained in paragraphs 2–10 of that decision.
