The Cuban delegation arrived this August 22 in the city of Vancouver, in which environmental leaders from 185 countries will meet at the Seventh Assembly of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), where will take place from 22 to 26 August.
The Cuban delegation is headed by the Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and the Environment, Adianez Taboada, Ph.D., accompanied by Lourdes Coya, MSc., from the Ministry's Environment General Directorate, and Aileen Carmenaty Sánchez, Third Secretary of the Cuban Embassy in Canada. The delegation will represent the island at the high-level meetings and side events, reaffirming Cuba's position on environmental issues.
The GEF Assembly will represent a critical balance of the 2030 targets aimed at eliminating pollution and nature loss, fighting climate change, and boosting inclusive and locally-led conservation.
The Assembly is scheduled to include the launch of the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund, a new source of funding to protect species and ecosystems around the world. The GEF was selected to manage the new fund at COP15 of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in December 2022, and its Governing Council approved plans for it in June 2023 in Brasilia.
The Assembly will bring together ministers, government officials, business leaders, environmentalists, heads of international organizations and environmental conventions along with representatives of youth groups, the civil society and indigenous peoples to discuss solutions that ensure a healthy planet.