9 January 2009: The 34th Council of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), which took place from 11-13 November 2008, approved $201.17 million for funding 37 new GEF projects, eight in climate change, one in land degradation, and eight multifocal proposals.

During the meeting, the Council also endorsed the concepts and objectives of a number of new programmatic approaches, including: the GEF Strategic Program for West Africa Energy Component, which aims to promote projects to scale up investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency in the region; the Framework for Promoting Low Greenhouse Gas Emission Buildings, which aims to promote low-energy and low-emissions buildings; Reducing Industry’s Carbon Footprint in Southeast Asia through Compliance with a Management System for Energy, which aims to promote sustainable energy efficiency improvement in the industrial sector through training at the level of systems; and the Strategic Program for Sustainable Forest Management in the Congo Basin, which is consistent with the strategic objectives formulated in the GEF Biodiversity and Climate Change Focal Area Strategies. [GEF Press Release]