Washington, DC, 26 February 2025 – In a critical moment for global environmental policy, with less than five years remaining to meet key international targets—leading experts gathered last week in Washington, DC, for the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) meetings of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). This pivotal event marked the formal start of the GEF ninth replenishment process, setting the stage for the next cycle (July 2026 to June 2030) of GEF investments in our planet.
The TAG meetings brought together scientists, technical experts, and practitioners across several fields to discuss the latest science related to the GEF mandate, assess current challenges, and provide suggestions to the GEF Partnership on its next programming strategy. Discussions spanned a wide range of issues, including food systems and land use, urban and infrastructure development, plastics and pollution control, Indigenous people, and biodiversity conservation, among other topics.
The Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP) team, under the leadership of its Chair, Prof. Rosina Bierbaum, actively participated in the organization of the meeting and played an active role in several of the sessions. During the opening plenary, the STAP Chair presented recommendations from STAP’s Initial Perspective on GEF-9, which includes:
- Build an overarching GEF-9 theory of change to drive portfolio-wide investment;
- Invest in innovation and manage associated risk at portfolio and program levels;
- Support policy coherence at multiple levels;
- Enable civil society to strengthen the social foundations for transformation;
- Work to influence market transformation in targeted sectors;
- Revisit the GEF results framework; and
- Foster early and adaptive learning and networked knowledge management.
STAP Panel members and technical staff from the Secretariat were engaged throughout the week, participating in and offering their expertise in various TAG sessions.
