Supporting the Coherence of the BBNJ Agreement’s Financial Mechanism

Exploring key opportunities and possible institutional arrangements for the Financial Mechanism under the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement)

Published on the 08 July 2025 by Secretariat of the Advisory Group on BBNJ Finance
UNSW CSDR logo only no text Secretariat of the Advisory Group on BBNJ Finance
Read full paper

This note from the BBNJ Advisory Group on Finance aims to unpack some of the key questions related to coherence, complementarity and duplication between the BBNJ Agreement’s financial mechanism and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), responding to the mandate in Article 52 paragraph 7 of the BBNJ Agreement.

This note is split into three main sections:

  • Early guidance to the GEF trust fund and Council through the Memorandum of Understand and the Conference of the Parties
  • Institutional arrangements between the GEF Council and BBNJ Conference of the Parties
  • Establishment of the special fund under the BBNJ’s financial mechanism.  
Questions addressed are:
  1. What steps can be taken to provide the GEF Council with early guidance to maximise early and effective implementation of the GEF trust fund?
  2. What institutional arrangements and infrastructure can be established between the GEF and the special fund to avoid duplication of work, streamline both funds, and allow for increased collaboration? 
  3. How can the special fund be established to complement the GEF trust fund, through both efforts to delineate and complement the fund?
Read full paper

This two-page document has been prepared by the University of New South Wales Centre for Sustainable Development Reform, serving as the Secretariat to the BBNJ Finance Advisory Group (Advisory Group) with inputs from the members of the Advisory Group. The Advisory Group consists of global experts serving in their personal capacity to provide thought leadership on innovative financial mechanisms for the implementation of the BBNJ Agreement.

Members of the Advisory Group contribute diverse perspectives to advance discussions and offer expert insights, but their participation does not constitute endorsement of all content. The opinions expressed in this note and other outputs, do not represent the official positions of any government, organisation, country, or member. This initiative is supported by the Bloomberg Ocean Initiative.

More BBNJ Finance