On Wednesday, 8 December 2021, Dr. Rosina Bierbaum reported to the GEF Council on the Panel's recent work. In introducing the report, the STAP Chair also summarized a number of recent scientific findings, including:
- UNEP’s Emissions Gap Report – which illustrates that current policies have reduced carbon emissions compared to where we were in 2010, but that existing nationally determined contributions remain significantly below the threshold to ensure, with reasonable certainty, the 50% reduction we need by 2030.
- A recent Report from Tracking Climate Action indicates that current policy action has shifted the expected global average temperature shift by the end of the century from 2.7 to 2.4° C, and this could shift well below the 2°C threshold depending on the implementation of net zero pledges.
As for STAP’s recent work, Dr. Bierbaum highlighted the following:
- South-South Knowledge Exchange, a paper that looks at the experiences of the GEF, its agencies’, and other institutions to see what’s been learned and what are the challenges. The report outlines a number of groups that the GEF and STAP could partner with and learn from as we move forward in GEF-8.
- STAP’s new report on Enabling Elements for Good Project Design synthesizes much of the advice STAP has produced over the last five years into one place, identifying eight interrelated components consistently found in the best GEF projects. These eight enabling elements, STAP believes, would reduce the complexity of the design process and help lessen the risks that can be associated with projects. Applying these elements also increases the chances of delivering durable outcomes that contribute to transformational change.
- How to Design Circular Economy Projects consolidates STAP’s advice from in its three previous reports on circular economy, and produces a step-by-step guide on how to develop GEF investments based on circular economy principles. This how to guide draws heavily on the Enabling Elements report – particularly with regard to applying systems analysis, constructing a theory of change, engaging stakeholders, and building in key behavioral change strategies and learning components. Circular economy projects go beyond these elements, however, in analyzing the material flows and crucial intervention points in the entire system that catalyzes a shift from a linear “take, make, waste” production process to a circular materials use process which maximizes benefits from both inputs and outputs.
Dr. Bierbaum also offered details on STAP’s upcoming activities. You can read her full report by visiting the link in Further Resources.
