• UN Biodiversity Conference in Yerevan receives boost with over $500 million in additional funding for action on nature.
• The Global Environment Facility’s ninth replenishment is now close to $4.4 billion with new pledges announced by Spain and Uzbekistan.
• New contributions of more than $60 million to the GEF’s Global Biodiversity Framework Fund from Germany, Iceland, Monaco, the province of Québec, and the city of Berlin. Armenia confirmed intention to become a contributor.
• Two new multi-annual pledges support predictable financing. Berlin is the first city to pledge to the GBFF.

National and sub-national governments pledged $60 million to the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) on finance day during the Convention on Biological Diversity’s seventeenth Conference of the Parties (COP17) in Yerevan. The resources will provide new targeted support to countries and communities working to conserve, restore, and ensure the long-term health and sustainability of wild species and ecosystems. 

Spain and Uzbekistan announced a contribution of EUR 50 million and $4.5 million, respectively, to the ninth replenishment of the Global Environment Facility Trust Fund (GEF-9). While the United Kingdom reaffirmed a contribution of £330 million, bringing the GEF-9 replenishment close to $4.4 billion in pledges.

Representatives of Armenia, which holds the COP17 presidency, joined Germany, Iceland, Monaco, the province of Québec, and the city of Berlin in announcing new contributions during a pledging session at COP17. The session also brought together representatives of developing countries receiving support from the fund, Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs), implementing agency partners, philanthropy, and the private sector. 

See the GBFF donor governments’ joint statement for amounts pledged by country

“Today’s pledges send a powerful signal: our partnership is ready to move from ambition to action for nature,” said Diego Mesa Puyo, GEF CEO and Chairperson. “This vote of confidence in the GEF will enable us to integrate environmental action with development priorities, catalyze larger pools of capital and private investment, and deliver results faster and at scale.”

“The Global Biodiversity Framework Fund is an important vehicle for mobilizing resources and turning the ambitions of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework into action,” said Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). “These new pledges, including multiannual commitments and the fund’s first contribution from a city, are encouraging signs of growing support for biodiversity finance. They show that taking action for nature is gaining momentum and that every contribution counts.”

“COP17 is demonstrating what multilateral cooperation can achieve. I welcome the financial pledges made by governments to the GEF in support of the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. As the COP17 presidency, we have initiated preliminary internal discussions on a possible contribution to join these efforts with the view of transforming commitments towards practical implementation,” said Hambardzum Matevosyan, Minister of Environment of the Republic of Armenia and President of COP17.

From its launch in August 2023, the GBFF has received $446 million in commitments from 14 sovereign and two subnational governments. Within a three-year period, a total of $362.1 million has been programmed to 82 projects across 87 countries, including 47 Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

The GBFF supports countries to strengthen national-level biodiversity management, policy, governance, and resource mobilization, including blended finance to leverage private sector financing. It has surpassed three targets with the programming of 32 percent of its resources to support actions by IPLCs, 39 percent to support SIDS and LDCs, and 30 percent through international financial institutions (IFIs).

The fund was established at the request of parties to the CBD and is designed to accelerate delivery of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. It has streamlined procedures and expanded governance arrangements to provide efficient support for developing countries and can receive contributions from all sources, including public, private, and philanthropic sources.

New pledges to GEF-9

The United Kingdom’s £330 million pledge, alongside Spain’s contribution of €50 million and Uzbekistan’s $4.5 million to GEF-9, raise total commitments close to $4.4 billion for the July 2026 – June 2030 period. Seventy percent of these resources will contribute to CBD objectives. Across its family of funds, the GEF approved $4.64 billion of funding for 649 projects supporting the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in 144 countries in the GEF-8 period (July 2022 – June 2026).