As environmental finance fragments and pressures mount, the Sixth Overall Performance Study (OPS6) asks whether the GEF is still positioned to deliver impact at scale.
OPS6 reviews how the GEF performs in a shifting environmental finance landscape and informs negotiations for the seventh replenishment by assessing evidence from the GEF-6 period (2014–2018). The evaluation draws on 29 studies and substudies, geospatial and desk analyses, and fieldwork in 43 countries, along with terminal evaluation reviews.
Findings show that GEF support remains relevant to conventions and country priorities: 79 percent of projects achieved satisfactory outcomes and several focal areas demonstrate measurable stress reduction.
Yet only 63 percent of outcomes are likely to be sustained, with financial risks the most common barrier. OPS6 finds that GEF support catalyzes change through mainstreaming, replication, and policy reform, yet results vary across regions and focal areas, indicating that further progress is needed.
The report recommends that the Council sharpen strategic focus where GEF has comparative advantage, improve efficiency and financial risk management including private sector engagement, and strengthen monitoring, safeguards, gender, and knowledge systems.
