Efforts to engage the private sector at scale led GEF to establish the Earth Fund in 2007, designed to operate differently from traditional grant mechanisms.

The GEF Earth Fund was reviewed from June to August 2010 to assess its compliance with Council decisions, activities, private sector engagement, and efficiency. The review analyzed governance documents, funding flows, and partnership arrangements, and drew on interviews with stakeholders involved in the five platforms supported by the fund.

Findings show that while the Earth Fund committed and allocated $50 million in just over two years, it operated largely as a traditional granting mechanism rather than as an innovative fund and fell short of attracting private financing or partnerships at the intended scale.

Engagement with the private sector was limited primarily to individual projects, and expectations for cofinancing and financial returns proved unrealistic. The evaluation also finds that the Earth Fund lacked clarity in its purpose, weak governance arrangements, and no strategy for capturing lessons learned.

The report recommends that the Council ask the Secretariat to revise the Earth Fund for its second phase and provide guidance to better define objectives, niche, and market barriers.