With reference to 'Global Environment Facility', which of the following statements is/are correct?

Answer: (a) It serves as financial mechanism for 'Convention on Biological Diversity' and 'United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change'

Only statement (a) is correct. The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a funding body that serves as the financial mechanism for the CBD and the UNFCCC, among other conventions. It funds projects rather than doing scientific research, and it is not an OECD agency.

• ✓ (a) The 1994 Instrument that restructured the GEF tasked it with operating the financial mechanism for the UNFCCC and the CBD. The GEF today serves as a financial mechanism to six conventions, including these two.
• ✗ (b) The GEF's role is to provide grant and concessional funding to achieve global environmental benefits. It is a funding mechanism, not a research organisation.
• ✗ (c) The GEF was restructured in 1994 as an independent international financial mechanism. Its original implementing agencies were UNDP, UNEP and the World Bank, and the World Bank serves as its Trustee. It is not an agency of the OECD.
• ✗ (d) Statement (b) is false, so 'both (a) and (b)' cannot be correct.

Remember · GEF is a funding mechanism, not a research body or an OECD agency. It is the financial mechanism for the CBD and UNFCCC, among other conventions, with the World Bank as Trustee.

Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2014, General Studies paper. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 25 Oct 2026 (how we verify). · Report an error