Latest news with #Boltz
Deccan Herald
20-07-2025
- Business
- Deccan Herald
Oldest climate fund plans wildlife bonds across Africa
The world's oldest multilateral climate fund, the Global Environment Facility, is planning a new wave of wildlife conservation bonds in a bid to help African countries save endangered species and ecosystems. Wildlife bonds, which provide low-cost funding in return for cutting poaching or other measures, were pioneered in 2022 with a World Bank-backed rhino bond and have seen a number of other examples since. There was an issue targeting chimpanzee protection in Rwanda last year, and last month the GEF approved one for lemur conservation in Madagascar. Fred Boltz, head of programming at GEF, which is linked to the World Bank, told Reuters on the sidelines of a meeting of African environment ministers that it aims to do one for every one of the 54 countries in Africa. He said such a move would require an investment of $150 million from GEF, which would then be leveraged 10 times to provide a total of $1.5 billion for conservation efforts through other borrowing. Money borrowed using wildlife bonds does not typically go onto the books of beneficiary governments, meaning they can offer much-needed financing to poorer countries, climate finance experts say. They usually target emblematic species in order to appeal to specialist investors and wealthy philanthropists and their payouts are directly linked to conservation - the better the result the less the governments are usually required to pay out. But GEF now hopes they can be expanded to include entire ecosystems such as wetlands, Boltz said. The push by the fund, which was formed after the landmark Rio Earth Summit of 1992, comes as aid and development funding cuts by the United States and other major economies threatens some conservation projects. "Many countries are asking, are suggesting, that in this tough official development assistance environment, that maintaining the last level of (species) replenishment may be difficult," Boltz said, "and that we might need to try to do more with less". $7.7 billion investment The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has in total invested $7.7 billion in Africa in various projects, such as an $85 million effort to fight desertification in the Sahel region. It is currently urging donors to replenish its cash for its next four-year cycle of programmes, starting next year. Its last fundraising for its current cycle raised $5.3 billion - an increase of more than 30% from its last operating period amid a surge of support for international efforts to meet nature and climate targets. That funding round got money from 29 countries, with the U.S. among the biggest donors, contributing $700 million.
The Herald
18-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald
Climate fund targets wildlife bonds for every country in Africa
He said the move would require an investment of $150m (R2.6bn) from the GEF, which would be leveraged 10 times to provide a total of $1.5bn (R26.7bn) for conservation efforts through other borrowing. Money borrowed using wildlife bonds does not typically go onto the books of beneficiary governments, meaning they can offer much-needed financing to poorer countries, climate finance experts said. They usually target emblematic species to appeal to specialist investors and wealthy philanthropists, and their payouts are directly linked to conservation, meaning the better the result the less governments are usually required to pay out. The GEF hopes they can be expanded to include entire ecosystems such as wetlands, Boltz said. The push by the fund, formed after the landmark Rio Earth Summit of 1992, comes as aid and development funding cuts by the US and other major economies threatens some conservation projects. "Many countries are suggesting that in this tough official development assistance environment, maintaining the last level of replenishment may be difficult," Boltz said, "and we might need to try to do more with less". The GEF has in total invested $7.7bn (R137bn) in Africa in projects, including an $85m (R1.5bn) effort to fight desertification in the Sahel region. It is urging donors to replenish its cash for its next four-year cycle of programmes, starting next year. Its last fundraising for its cycle raised $5.3bn (R94bn), an increase of more than 30% from its last operating period amid a surge of support for international efforts to meet nature and climate targets. That funding round received money from 29 countries, with the US among the biggest donors, contributing $700m (R12.4bn). Reuters
TimesLIVE
18-07-2025
- Business
- TimesLIVE
Climate fund targets wildlife bonds for every country in Africa
He said the move would require an investment of $150m (R2.6bn) from the GEF, which would be leveraged 10 times to provide a total of $1.5bn (R26.7bn) for conservation efforts through other borrowing. Money borrowed using wildlife bonds does not typically go onto the books of beneficiary governments, meaning they can offer much-needed financing to poorer countries, climate finance experts said. They usually target emblematic species to appeal to specialist investors and wealthy philanthropists, and their payouts are directly linked to conservation, meaning the better the result the less governments are usually required to pay out. The GEF hopes they can be expanded to include entire ecosystems such as wetlands, Boltz said. The push by the fund, formed after the landmark Rio Earth Summit of 1992, comes as aid and development funding cuts by the US and other major economies threatens some conservation projects. "Many countries are suggesting that in this tough official development assistance environment, maintaining the last level of replenishment may be difficult," Boltz said, "and we might need to try to do more with less". The GEF has in total invested $7.7bn (R137bn) in Africa in projects, including an $85m (R1.5bn) effort to fight desertification in the Sahel region. It is urging donors to replenish its cash for its next four-year cycle of programmes, starting next year. Its last fundraising for its cycle raised $5.3bn (R94bn), an increase of more than 30% from its last operating period amid a surge of support for international efforts to meet nature and climate targets. That funding round received money from 29 countries, with the US among the biggest donors, contributing $700m (R12.4bn).
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Ohio man given 30 years for sexually exploiting Chicagoland girl he met online
CHICAGO (WGN) — An Ohio man will spend three decades in prison for sexually exploiting a Chicagoland girl he met online in 2020. 27-year-old Andrew Boltz, a Kenton, Ohio, resident, who was convicted on exploitation and child pornography charges by a federal jury in 2023, was handed a 30-year prison sentence during a hearing in federal court, the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Northern District of Illinois announced Thursday. According to prosecutors, in 2020, Boltz began communicating with a girl who was only 16 years old using the social media app Omegle. Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines Boltz continued the conversations with the victim over text messages and through the app Snapchat and during their conversations, prosecutors said Boltz enticed the victim into sending him sexually explicit images of herself. Prosecutors said Boltz even instructed the girl on what type of sexually explicit conduct should be portrayed in the images. Boltz was convicted on four counts of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of receipt of child pornography on Oct 10, 2023, following a six-day trial in Chicago that included testimony from the victim. LATEST CASES: Missing people in Chicagoland The app Omegle was an online video chat service that would pair users with strangers at random. It was eventually shut down about a month after Boltz's conviction following years of mounting abuse claims. Bolt'z sentence, which was handed down by U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey on Friday, was the maximum possible punishment for his crimes. Authorities did not provide a booking photo for Boltz. The U.S. Attorney's Office of the Northern District of Illinois urges anyone who may be a victim of sexual exploitation or worries that others may be victims, to contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by logging on to or by calling 1-800-843-5678. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
