Policy coherence, as defined in Global Environment Facility (GEF) documents, refers to "the systematic promotion of mutually reinforcing policy actions across government departments and agencies, creating synergies towards achieving the agreed objectives." Enhancing policy coherence has the potential to mitigate activities driving environmental degradation. Moreover, coherent policies could redirect funding from harmful activities and subsidies to address the environmental financing gap. With a mandate that cuts across multiple sectors, the GEF has been in a unique position to facilitate policy coherence over its more than 30 years of existence.
In October 2023, the GEF Council approved a suite of activities to enhance policy coherence across multiple levels of GEF operation. This evaluation aims to examine the GEF’s past efforts in supporting policy coherence, assess preliminary effects of its recent emphasis on this theme on the nature of support provided, and analyze the mechanisms through which it provides this support. The findings of this forward-looking evaluation are expected to help inform the GEF’s dedicated programming on policy coherence, enhancing its ability to effectively achieve its mission of generating global environmental benefits.
