The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has allocated more than $3-billion in financing to support developing countries in mitigating and adapting to climate change over the next four years.

An additional $30-billion will also be lever- aged from other sources over the period.

“We urgently need strong action on climate change. The GEF is proactively seeking to produce the maximum impact from our investments, working together with other stakeholders to achieve the change the world needs,” GEF chairperson and CEO Dr Naoko Ishii says.

To pilot innovative approaches, the GEF will, over the next four years, provide dedicated finance for three high-impact programmes.

Firstly, $100-million will be dedicated to the Sustainable Cities programme, which will help mayors and other municipal leaders make cities more sustainable, cleaner, more efficient, resilient, and prosperous, generating global environmental benefits through local action.

“There is no better entry point to address the world’s major drivers of environmental degradation than cities and urbanisation. With this programme, we aim to create a global platform that can support mayors and city managers to develop and execute integrated plans that help lower cities’ environmental footprints and increase their resilience.

“Importantly, the programme will also facilitate learning and sharing of effective solutions among cities around the world,” Ishii says.

In addition, the high-impact programmes also include $110-million to improve food security, strengthen resilience and enhance carbon sequestration in sub-Saharan Africa, and $45-million to eliminate deforestation from commodity supply chains by harnessing the growing public and private-sector interest in adopting more sustainable practices to produce commodities such as palm oil, soy and beef.

Meanwhile, the GEF notes that $910-million has been allocated to individual countries to support national climate change mitigation policies and strategies, enhance renewable-energy supply, increase energy efficiency – including sustainable transport and urban design – and expand climate smart agriculture.

The organisation notes that $314-million has already been transferred to 53 countries to strengthen their hydrometeorological and climate information services, allowing governments, private enterprises, civil society and individuals to integrate climate change risks and adaptation into their decision-making processes.

The GEF and its partners are also preparing regional programmes that will deploy ecosystem-based adaptation measures to enhance resilience in cities in at least nine countries across Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the Asia-Pacific region.

Further, the GEF has allocated $225-million to support United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change-related reporting and assessments, which includes nationally determined contributions, and to help integrate their findings into national policy planning and implementation.

In addition, the GEF also expects to invest up to $1.2-billion for enhanced resilience adaptation and disaster risk reduction.