The Global Environment Facility and Energy Efficiency The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is the single largest source of financing dedicated to the protection of the global environment. [...] Since many of the projects that fall within the cluster of financial instruments (e.g., funds and guarantees) and mechanisms (e.g., Energy Service Companies) also deal with the industrial sector, the total amount of industrial energy efficiency activities is likely to account for about one-third of the total energy efficiency project portfolio. [...] The reason for the attractiveness of the ESCO business model is that it relies on market forces to bridge the gap between end-users and financing, it involves private sector participation, it mobilizes local sources of financing, and it transfers the technical risks from the end-users to financiers and project developers. [...] By late 2003, the institutional framework had been set up, including creation of the national PIC, registration of the consortium as a commercial entity, and design of the RCF hosted by the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC). [...] Conclusions The GEF approach to energy efficiency, as stated in the Operational and Strategy and Operational Programs, is to remove barriers to the large-scale application, implementation, and dissemination of cost-effective, energy-efficient technologies and practices that will result in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.