Cooperation and Partnerships

Global Environment Facility (GEF)

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has been the institutional structure operating the financial mechanism under the Convention, in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding between the Conference of the Parties and the Council of the Global Environment Facility.

In addition to the Rio conventions, the GEF also provides the service of operating the financial mechanism for the following agreements:

1. Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants
   
2. Minamata Convention on Mercury
   
3. Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement
4. Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer
5. Multilateral Agreements on International Waters and Transboundary Water Systems

These conventions provide broad strategic guidance to the GEF’s two governing bodies: the GEF Council and the GEF Assembly. The GEF Council translates this guidance into operational criteria and guidelines for GEF-funded projects.

The conventions are represented by their secretariats at meetings of the GEF's governing bodies. They often meet on the margins of these gatherings. Notably, "Relations with Conventions and Other International Institutions" has consistently been a key agenda item at GEF Council meetings.

Green Climate Fund (GCF)

Following a call by the GCF Board for observer accreditation, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity obtained the international entity observer status to participate in the activities of the Fund.

The Executive Secretary of the Convention and the Executive Director of the Fund has met several times. The heads of CBD, GEF and GCF met in December 2022, and endorsed the CBD-GEF-GCF collaboration for a paradigm-shift towards large-scale ecosystem protection, restoration, and adaptive management in the context of the climate-biodiversity nexus.

The Secretariat has actively participated in several meetings organized by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and has contributed to the development of numerous GCF policy and programming documents. Notably, in the document GCF/B.36/17/Rev.01: Green Climate Fund – Strategic Plan 2024–2027, adopted at the thirty-sixth meeting (B.36) held in Songdo, Incheon, Republic of Korea, from 10 to 13 July 2023, the Board endorsed eleven targeted results for the 2024–2027 period. Many of these results are directly relevant to the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

1. More than 100 developing countries directly supported by GCF to advance the implementation of their NDCs, NAPs or LTS through integrated climate investment planning and/or developing high quality climate project pipelines for GCF funding.
2. Doubling the number of DAEs with approved GCF funding proposals through strengthened climate programming capacity and increasing the allocation of GCF resources through DAEs.
3. CIEWS (Climate Information and Early Warning Systems): 50 to 60 developing countries particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change protected by new or improved early warning systems.
4. Food: Support for developing countries that results in 190 to 280 million beneficiaries adopting low-emission climate-resilient agricultural and fisheries practices, securing livelihoods while reconfiguring food systems.
5. Ecosystems: Support for developing countries that results in 120 to 190 million hectares of terrestrial and marine areas conserved, restored or brought under sustainable management.
6. Infrastructure: 45 to 60 developing countries supported by GCF to develop or secure low emission climate resilient infrastructure, through systemic and/or country-driven resilience planning, funding and/or de-risking of investments, including those that draw on nature-based solutions or ecosystem based approaches.
7. Clean Energy: 20 to 30 developing countries supported to expand access to sustainable, affordable resilient, reliable renewable energy, particularly for hardest to reach, and/or to increase renewable energy sources in the energy mix.
8. Transport, buildings, industry: 18 to 25 developing countries supported to shift toward clean and efficient energy end-use for transport, building and industry sectors, including through electrification, decreasing energy consumption and novel solutions and emerging technologies for hard-to-abate sectors.
9. 40-70 approved proposals for adaptation projects, including for locally led adaptation action.
10. Support for developing countries that results in 900 to 1500 local private sector early stage ventures and MSMEs provided with broad-based seed and early-stage capital for innovative climate solutions, business models and technologies, with a focus on adaptation, energy access and transport sectors, and removing barriers for home-grown innovation
11. Support for developing countries that results in 90 to 180 national and regional financial institutions supported to access GCF resources, and other green finance, particularly for MSMEs.

Japan Biodiversity Fund

The Japan Biodiversity Fund (JBF) was established by the Government of Japan when it assumed the COP Presidency during the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP10), held in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan in October 2010.

The second phase of the Fund was announced by the Ministry of the Environment of Japan at the first part of the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15), held in Kunming, China in October 2021, and was officially launched at the second part of COP15, held in Montreal, Canada in December 2022. Phase 2 aims to bridge the gap between the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity and the newly adopted Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

Kunming Biodiversity Fund

The Kunming Biodiversity Fund (KBF) is a multi-partner trust fund established in May 2024 to support the implementation of the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), particularly in developing countries.

As of 2024, China has committed $207 million, with $6.97 million already deposited.