The purpose of the evaluation was to promote accountability and learning about
GEF’s mitigation programme and across GEF overall. It assesses the extent and
ways in which GEF support contributes to market change to reduce CO2 emissions
and mitigates climate change, and derives lessons to improve the effectiveness of
future GEF support.
The evaluation concluded that GEF projects achieved significant direct GEF
emission reduction, although indirect emission reduction – which is difficult to
measure – may account for much larger reduction. The evaluation found that of the
18 projects covered, in 17 cases there was broader adoption of promoted technologies, approaches and strategies, beyond the direct scope of the project. It found
that the projects that demonstrated high progress towards long term impact were
those that had adopted comprehensive approaches to address market barriers and
specifically targeted supportive policy frameworks. The evaluation found that the
methodologies being used by project teams to measure GHG emissions and to
calculate ex-post emissions reduction at project completion were inconsistent and
contained uncertainties.
The experience gained through conducting the evaluation made methodological
challenges in evaluating GEF support salient. It was challenging to draw conclusions and lessons from a large diversity of projects that GEF finances and the wide
range of sectors that it covers. Another challenge is the assessment of GEF
contributions to change when multiple actors, factors and conditions affect outcomes. Similarly, inconsistency and inaccuracies in measurement pose difficulties.
This paper presents methodology adopted to evaluate the contributions of GEF
support to initiatives seeking to reduce climate change emissions.
9.2 Utility as a Guiding Factor to Define What Needs to Be
Evaluated
The initial step was to identify the overall topic and the key questions that the
evaluation would address. The key criteria were the extent to which the evaluation
could provide useful information to inform future GEF support on climate change
and the extent to which there were sufficient completed projects to carry out an
impact evaluation. The climate change mitigation strategies and programs
supported by the GEF were reviewed. Given that most climate change mitigation
projects supported by the GEF aim at transforming markets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, this emphasis became a starting point for developing the
evaluation questions. Evaluation questions were developed in consultation with
the GEF Secretariat staff especially those from the climate change mitigation
program, and GEF Partner Agencies that were responsible for implementing
these projects on the ground. This process led to three overall evaluative questions.
9 Methodological Approach of the GEF IEO’s Climate Change Mitigation. . .
155
GEF’s mitigation programme and across GEF overall. It assesses the extent and
ways in which GEF support contributes to market change to reduce CO2 emissions
and mitigates climate change, and derives lessons to improve the effectiveness of
future GEF support.
The evaluation concluded that GEF projects achieved significant direct GEF
emission reduction, although indirect emission reduction – which is difficult to
measure – may account for much larger reduction. The evaluation found that of the
18 projects covered, in 17 cases there was broader adoption of promoted technologies, approaches and strategies, beyond the direct scope of the project. It found
that the projects that demonstrated high progress towards long term impact were
those that had adopted comprehensive approaches to address market barriers and
specifically targeted supportive policy frameworks. The evaluation found that the
methodologies being used by project teams to measure GHG emissions and to
calculate ex-post emissions reduction at project completion were inconsistent and
contained uncertainties.
The experience gained through conducting the evaluation made methodological
challenges in evaluating GEF support salient. It was challenging to draw conclusions and lessons from a large diversity of projects that GEF finances and the wide
range of sectors that it covers. Another challenge is the assessment of GEF
contributions to change when multiple actors, factors and conditions affect outcomes. Similarly, inconsistency and inaccuracies in measurement pose difficulties.
This paper presents methodology adopted to evaluate the contributions of GEF
support to initiatives seeking to reduce climate change emissions.
9.2 Utility as a Guiding Factor to Define What Needs to Be
Evaluated
The initial step was to identify the overall topic and the key questions that the
evaluation would address. The key criteria were the extent to which the evaluation
could provide useful information to inform future GEF support on climate change
and the extent to which there were sufficient completed projects to carry out an
impact evaluation. The climate change mitigation strategies and programs
supported by the GEF were reviewed. Given that most climate change mitigation
projects supported by the GEF aim at transforming markets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, this emphasis became a starting point for developing the
evaluation questions. Evaluation questions were developed in consultation with
the GEF Secretariat staff especially those from the climate change mitigation
program, and GEF Partner Agencies that were responsible for implementing
these projects on the ground. This process led to three overall evaluative questions.
9 Methodological Approach of the GEF IEO’s Climate Change Mitigation. . .
155