The World Bank issued a press release on December 20, 2022 in which it stated that the Global Environment Facility (the world’s largest funder of biodiversity protection and pollution reduction in the world, in partnership with the World Bank) will grant $8.86 million to assist Lebanon with a project that aims to decrease the country’s harmful emissions, improve solid waste management and reduce the exposure of residents in the North & South regions to dangerous substances. The project was signed by the Lebanese Minister of Environment Mr. Nasser Yassine and the World Bank’s Mashreq Country Director Mr. Jean-Christophe Carret. According to the World Bank, Lebanon’s annual cost of environmental degradation in 2018 stood at 4.4% of GDP (around $2.39 billion) and is estimated to have increased significantly at present as evidenced by the rise in pollution levels and the depletion of natural resources. Mr. Carret mentioned that despite the increasing challenges, Lebanon has achieved some progress in developing a strong legal foundation for integrated solid waste management. Furthermore, Mr. Carret also commented that Lebanon needs to enforce environmental governance by carrying out sectoral reforms to guarantee the financial stability of much needed infrastructure investments. The World Bank added that burning solid waste releases highly toxic “Unintentional Persistent Organic Pollutants” (UPOP) into the air, noting that the project under consideration aims to address barriers for reducing UPOP emissions to tame the impact of such a practice on public health and environmental risks. Furthermore, the project will benefit people living in close proximity to open waste dumps, which put the residents at risk through air, water and food chain contamination. As per Mr. Yassine, the project will conduct detailed assessments of selected areas in the North and South regions and of the waste disposal sites in order to ensure the technical, financial & institutional feasibility of interventions in accordance with the Ministry’s strategy for an integrated management of the environmental sector. Finally, Mr. Yassine mentioned that the project will consummate the collaboration with the World Bank with regards to solid waste management operations that are already underway in the Beirut, Metn, and the upper Litani Basin zones.