The Global Environment Facility (GEF) includes several multilateral funds working together to address the planet's most pressing challenges in an integrated way. Its financing helps developing countries address complex challenges and work towards meeting international environmental goals.
The Earth Fund was a joint initiative of the Global Environment Facility and the International Finance Corporation, launched to catalyze private sector solutions that deliver global environmental benefits, with a strong focus on climate action. By combining concessional resources with IFC’s investment and advisory platforms, the Earth Fund helped pilot and scale commercially viable models in areas such as clean energy and resource efficiency. The initiative demonstrated how blended finance can unlock larger pools of capital, support innovation, and inform future approaches to partnering with the private sector for climate and environmental impact.
For over 30 years, the GEF and IFC have partnered to deliver innovative solutions using blended concessional finance to catalyze private sector investment and address global environmental challenges. This longstanding collaboration has evolved from early initiatives — such as the IFC–GEF SME Program to Promote Energy Efficiency Investments — to platforms like the Earth Fund Platform, designed to catalyze innovative private sector climate and environmental investments at scale, particularly in clean energy, energy efficiency, and resource efficiency.