Mesa Puyo arrives at the Washington-based institution following his tenure as Deputy Chief of the Climate Policy Division at the International Monetary Fund. During his time as Colombia’s energy minister from 2018 to 2022, he spearheaded a regional energy transition that attracted over $3 billion in private capital, scaling renewable energy from negligible levels to a dominant market force. His background bridges the gap between high-level economic policy and practical sustainability implementation.

He assumes the role at a significant juncture for the fund, which serves as the primary financial mechanism for six international environmental conventions. With donor countries already pledging an initial $3.9 billion for the ninth replenishment of the GEF Trust Fund, the organization aims to expand its influence in biodiversity and pollution control. Mesa Puyo emphasized a focus on translating high-level climate ambition into concrete, measurable outcomes through multilateral partnerships. Over the past thirty years, the GEF has deployed more than $27 billion in grants to support country-driven environmental initiatives.