Towards Net Zero Emissions
There’s no place in the world that is safe from more frequent and catastrophic events that are exacerbated by climate change. The devastating consequences of a carbon-reliant economy are already impacting people, urban and rural areas, economies and ecosystems all over the world, hitting more brutally developing countries, women, indigenous people and vulnerable communities.
Countries committed in the Paris Agreement to limit temperature rise well below 2°C and pursuing 1.5°C, however emissions are not being cut fast and substantially enough to reduce the losses and damages. Furthermore, we are experiencing the warmest years on record, as emphasised in UNEP’s Emissions Gap Report 2024.
According to the latest science available by the IPCC, there is a dire urge for countries to rapidly and fairly accelerate climate change mitigation by drastically cutting global greenhouse gas emissions and increasing their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to avoid even more dreadful consequences.
The Funds
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which has a membership of 198 countries, has a global mandate to address climate change. It is working through the Global Environment Facility (GEF), one of the operating entities of its financial mechanism, that supports developing countries to shift towards low carbon development pathways and meet the objectives of Paris Agreement.
These GEF funds, available to developing countries to support them in achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development pathways, in a way which is positive for nature, are replenished every four years (see GEF Replenishment documents) by the 40 GEF donor countries. We are currently in GEF-8 (which started on 1 July 2022).
The UNEP GEF Commitment to Climate Change Mitigation
The UNEP GEF Mitigation Unit works with developing countries to support them to accelerate a low-emission development. Through GEF investments in these countries, the Unit is instrumental in implementing projects with national governments that address the issues of policy, regulatory approaches, financial mechanisms, institutional capacity, innovation, private sector engagement, international cooperation and information dissemination that are pivotal for addressing climate mitigation issues across different sectors.
These GEF projects, which are aligned with their NDCs, are collectively contributing to the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Sustainable Development Goals
The objectives in the various climate mitigation projects executed by the national governments contribute to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through the following goals.
To discuss partnering with UNEP on a GEF project or programme, contact:
Asher Lessels, Head (a.i.), GEF Mitigation Unit [asher.lessels@un.org]
