COP17 Pledges Bring Global Environment Facility's Next Funding Cycle Near $4.4 Billion

Fresh commitments announced at the United Nations biodiversity conference in Yerevan on October 26 have brought the Global Environment Facility's ninth replenishment close to $4.4 billion, according to the fund and conference reporting.

The new pledges include €50 million from Spain and about $4.5 million from Uzbekistan, while the United Kingdom reaffirmed a £330 million contribution. The Global Environment Facility described the latest commitments as part of more than $500 million in additional funding for action on nature announced at the conference. The new replenishment covers July 2026 through June 2030.

GEF chief executive Diego Mesa Puyo told reporters that an earlier funding round had attracted approximately $3.9 billion in commitments. The additional pledges increased the reported total toward $4.4 billion. These figures represent donor commitments, not funds already paid to individual conservation projects.

A separate Global Biodiversity Framework Fund also received more than $60 million in new contributions. The fund identified Germany, Iceland, Monaco, the Canadian province of Québec and the city of Berlin among contributors. Berlin's contribution is notable as the fund's first from a city government.

The two funding mechanisms have different mandates, and their totals should not be treated as a single pool available for immediate spending. The biodiversity framework fund supports implementation of international nature-conservation targets, including assistance to developing countries and local communities.

The funding announcements took place during COP17's Finance and Biodiversity Day. Governments continued discussions about financing and other elements of the international biodiversity framework; the pledges do not mean that all outstanding negotiations have been settled.

The announcement was made on October 26 but was not established as an event occurring in the preceding hour.