7 August 2012
Naoko Ishii Takes Office as GEF CEO and Chairperson
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Naoko Ishii took office as CEO and Chairperson of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) on 1 August 2012.

She has highlighted the need to involve finance and environment ministers in jointly addressing pressing environmental problems, and said GEF should continue to lead as an innovator, champion, partner of choice and catalyst for the evolution of environmental finance.

1 August 2012: The Global Environment Facility (GEF) welcomed Naoko Ishii as its new CEO and Chairperson, announcing that she had taken office on 1 August 2012. The GEF Council unanimously selected Ishii to succeed Monique Barbut, who completed her second term as CEO in July 2012.

Ishii is the former Deputy Vice Minister of Finance of the Government of Japan.

Ishii asserted that “the GEF should continue to lead as an innovator, a champion, the partner of choice in taking on environmental challenges, and as a catalyst for the evolution of environmental finance.” She highlighted the urgent need to strengthen and forge partnerships among donors, governments, international organizations and the private sector to address critical environmental challenges. Ishii also emphasized that finance and environment ministers need to talk to each other and ensure that environmental concerns are embedded at all levels of policy making. [GEF Press Release]

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