The Global Environment Facility (GEF), of which the African Development Bank has been an implementing agency since 2007, is an independent organization that provides grants and private financing to cover the additional costs of transforming development projects into investments that generate global environmental benefits for African countries. The GEF, created in October 1991, brings together 183 member states in partnership with international institutions, non-governmental organizations and the private sector. Today, it is the largest donor for projects aimed at protecting the environment. It finances projects related to biodiversity, the fight against the effects of climate change, soil degradation and waste and chemical products. It aims to provide additional financing in the form of grants and loans in order to cover the additional costs associated with the transformation of a project with national benefits into a project with global environmental benefits. Since the African Development Bank joined the GEF in 2007 as an implementing agency, the Bank has had direct access to the agency's resources. Over the years, the Bank has developed its portfolio of projects in the areas of climate change, biodiversity, and international land and water conservation, while progressively strengthening its interventions on chemical and waste issues on the African continent. The demand for projects aimed at the protection of the environment and the promotion of sustainable development has increased over the last decade in parallel with the expansion of certain economic activities in the sectors of tourism, agriculture, energy and transport, both in rural and urban areas. For African countries that have limited resources to finance such projects, the Bank and the GEF represent a considerable source of funding and technical expertise. The Bank supported its regional member countries in implementing projects worth over $360 million, financed by both grants and private financing from the GEF. The Bank's growing role as a major source of GEF financing reflects its ability to combine these projects with its own investments in achieving socio-economic and sustainable development goals. As a major player in the socio-economic development of the continent, the Bank has a significant comparative advantage for the GEF, in particular by integrating sustainability and resilience into its investments. Furthermore, as a multilateral organization, the Bank can capitalize on the impact of these projects by attracting public and private sector partners for catalytic investments. Since 2007, the Bank has actively engaged in numerous dialogues at the national level, in particular with GEF national focal points to identify co-financing opportunities for the benefit of its regional member countries (RMCs). On average, for every $1 in GEF resources, the Bank attracted an additional $4 in co-financing. In addition, the African Development Bank's GEF project portfolio has continued to grow since the start of the current seventh replenishment cycle of the Fund (2018-2022).