News Center

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• 11 May 2012
  Bird-Watching Can Help Eco-Tourism Fly High in a Green EconomyWorld Migratory Bird Day 2012 Highlights Multiple Benefits of Safeguarding Bird Habitats
  
  Bonn/Nairobi, 10 May 2012 - UMigratory birds undertake some of the most daring journeys in the animal kingdom, often covering thousands of kilometers to migrate. And the growing fan base of these winged adventurers is now presenting economic opportunities through sustainable tourism. On 12-13 May 2012, the economic benefits of supporting the world’s migratory bird species will be one of the key themes of celebrations to mark World Migratory Bird Day 2012 (WMBD). Under the slogan Migratory birds and people – together through time, WMBD will also emphasize the important cultural and environmental role played by birds.
  
  
  More: Press Release in French
  
  
• 10 May 2012
  Better measuring of water supplies and uses vital to meet global and local needsMany water problems the world faces are economic, social and political and could be solved by switching to the Green Economy
  
  Copenhagen, Denmark, 10 May 2012 - Understanding how much water we have and then prioritizing our uses of it will be pivotal as the world strives in the coming decades to meet the water, energy, land and material needs of up to 9 billion people. Such an effort is taking on special urgency against the backdrop of climate change, the need to reverse the rate of loss of biodiversity, improve public health and keep humanity’s environmental footprint within planetary boundaries. According to a report released today, the latest in a series of scientific assessments from the International Resource Panel, a multi-disciplinary grouping of eminent experts in natural resource management hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme, the world is entering a period of growing water scarcity: by 2030, global demand for fresh water could outstrip supply by more than 40 per cent if no changes are made with the way water is used.
  
  More: View Measuring Watyer file
  
  
• 9 May 2012
  UN Pavilion Opens its Doors at Expo 2012 Visitors Taken on Interactive Journey from Land to Deep Ocean
  
  Yeosu (Republic of Korea) / Nairobi, 9 May 2012 - The United Nations Pavilion at Expo 2012 in Yeosu, Republic of Korea, will open its doors on 12 May 2012 to the estimated 11 million visitors who are expected to visit the event over the next three months. The UN pavilion – the second largest at Expo 2012 – will take visitors on a multi-sensory, interactive exploration of the marine environment.
  
  The pavilion will highlight the key role played by oceans and coasts in the global economy, including human health, biodiversity, sustainable energy and food security. Under the theme Oceans and Coasts: Connecting our Lives, Ensuring our Future, the pavilion will highlight the work of 24 UN bodies and international organizations through a specially-designed ‘space tunnel’, quizzes, film screenings, workshops and a diverse calendar of exhibitions and events.
  
  More: Press Release in Korean.
  
  
• 4 May 2012
  Sustainable Water Management is Achieving Economic, Social and Environmental Benefits, say Countries Pre-publication results: UN Survey of 130 Countries Provides In-Depth Status Report on Global Efforts to Improve Water Management
  
  New York / Nairobi, 4 May 2012 - Over 80 per cent of countries have reformed their water laws in the past twenty years as a response to growing pressures on water resources from expanding populations, urbanization and climate change.
  
  In many cases, such water reforms have produced significant impacts on development, including improvements to drinking water access, human health and water efficiency in agriculture. At the same time, global progress has been slower where irrigation, rainwater harvesting and investment in freshwater ecosystem services are concerned.
  
  
• 3 May 2012
  Supporting Canada’s Coasts Can Benefit Climate and Economy Restoring Drained Marshes Will Provide Ecosystem Services Worth Over $14,500 per hectare, says Research
  
  Montreal / Nairobi, 03 May 2012 - Reversing the degradation of coastal ecosystems in Canada and elsewhere can play an important role in tackling climate change, while bringing additional benefits to biodiversity and the economies of coastal communities. This was the central message delivered by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) during an event held by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Montreal.
  
  
  
  
• 2 May 2012
  Take action for World Environment Day and drive your environmental project forward with a fuel-efficient Kia car!
  UNEP Goodwill Ambassadors challenge the global WED global community to organize and implement environmental activities during the week of WED (3-8 June 2012) for a chance to win one of the five fuel-efficient cars donated by KIA for WED 2012!
  
  The goal is to make 5 June the single biggest day for positive global action on the environment and break the record for the greatest number of activities registered in WED's four-decade history.
  
  
  
  
• 1 May 2012
  UN Peacekeeping Set To Benefit From New Environmental Practices, According To New UNEP Report
  New York, 1 May 2012 - The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has today released the findings of a two-year analysis of how peacekeeping missions around the world affect, and are affected by, natural resources and the broader environment.In addition to highlighting the utmost importance of reducing the environmental impact of UN Peacekeeping operations, the new report states that the implementation of good practice in this area also has additional benefits, including increased financial savings for missions, and improved safety and security for local communities as well as UN Peacekeeping staff. The 16 missions currently led by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and supported by the Department of Field Support (DFS) constitute the largest environmental footprint in the UN system.
  More: Press Release in French
  
  
• 25 Apr 2012
  Ambassadors and Experts Examine New Developments in Peacebuilding and Natural Resource Managemen
  New York, 25 April 2012 - On Tuesday, 70 ambassadors, international experts and researchers met to examine recent lessons from more than 60 countries in managing natural resources to support peacebuilding and conflict management. In opening the event, Ambassador Jarmo Viinanen, the Permanent Representative of Finland, noted that “Linkages among natural resources, environment, and security are prominent features of Finnish foreign policy and we are proud to actively promote the use of mediation in conflict prevention and resolution.”s worldwide.”
  
  
  
  
• 23 Apr 2012
  UN Publishes Greenhouse Gas Emission Figures and Highlights Progress towards Climate Neutrality
  UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Welcomes Publication of Moving Towards a Climate Neutral UN
  
  New York, 23 April 2012 - The UN has launched its third annual Moving Towards a Climate Neutral UN report, detailing the organization’s greenhouse gas emissions for 2010 and the ongoing efforts to measure and reduce them.
  
  Launching the report on the occasion of Earth Day 2012, the UN Secretary-General said: “The United Nations system is strongly committed to leading by example and ensuring that our operations are continuously monitored and improved - not just in terms of what we deliver, but also how we deliver. We are also looking to this year’s UN Conference on Sustainable Development -- Rio+20 -- to generate ideas that will energize sustainability efforts worldwide.”
  
  More on: MTCNUN Summary 2012
  
  
• 23 Apr 2012
  New Intergovernmental Body Established to Accelerate Global Response towards Sustainable Management of World’s Biodiversity and Ecosystems
  German City of Bonn Wins Bid to Host Secretariat
  Science, Key to Conservation and Development 
  
  Panama City, 23 April 2012 - After several years of international negotiations, the final operational design of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) was agreed yesterday.
  
  The German city of Bonn, which hosts such treaties as the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Convention on Migratory Species, won the bid to host the secretariat of the new independent body at a meeting held in Panama City.
  
  IPBES aims to tackle head-on the accelerating worldwide loss of biodiversity and degradation of ecosystem service by bridging the gap between accurate, impartial and up to date science and policy-makers.
  
  
  
• 17 Apr 2012
  World Environment Day 2012 Aims for Record Participation
  Goodwill Ambassadors Gisele Bündchen and Don Cheadle and Other Celebrities Unveil WED Challenge and Chance to Win Fuel-Efficient Car
  
  Nairobi, 17 April 2012 - World Environment Day (WED) 2012 is aiming higher than ever before. For this year’s WED–the single biggest day for positive action on the environment worldwide– people across the world will be challenged to pledge an environmental activity for 5 June 2012, and help break the record for the greatest number of activities registered in WED’s four decade history.
  
  More: Press Release in French
  
  
  
• 11 Apr 2012
  World Migratory Bird Day 2012 Trailer Launched
  11 April 2012 – The World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) 2012 campaign team is excited to announce the release of this year’s campaign trailer! The two-minute animated video helps explain this year’s theme: Migratory birds and people – together through time, and is inspired by the 2012 WMBD Poster. It aims to enhance the viewers’ understanding of migratory birds and the birds' relevance for mankind.
  
  Throughout time and across cultures humans have relied on birds, be it to supply food, to deliver messages, or to serve as symbols of power and prestige. Migratory birds provide essential ecological benefits and services, such as pollination and seed dispersal, and the phenomenon of bird migration is crucial to the web of life. World Migratory Bird Day 2012 celebrates the cultural, social, historic, economic and spiritual connections we have with birds.
  
  
• 11 Apr 2012
  FOURTH ANNUAL ENVISION CONFERENCE TO FOCUS ON ‘STORIES FOR A SUSTAINABLE
  FUTURE’
  1 April 2012: A two-day conference to be held in New York City later this month, “Envision 2012: Stories for a Sustainable Future”, will focus on developing a better global future with opportunity for all, building on three key
  issues: just and sustainable cities; clean water; and green energy. The conference, a unique partnership between the Creative Community Outreach Initiative of the United Nations Department of Public Information, the Independent Filmmaker Project and the Ford Foundation, was founded on the shared belief that storytelling and documentary film can be powerful tools in building a better future for all people. Now in its fourth year, the gathering on 16 and 17 April connects United Nations experts and non-governmental organizations with some of the most creative minds in filmmaking and new media, and enables them to work together to find new and compelling ways to create momentum for social change
  
  More: Press Release in French
  
  
• 26 Mar 2012
  UN Launches Major New Initiative to Promote Role of Law in Advancing Sustainable Development
  New York / Nairobi, 26 March 2012:The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and partners have launched a new international initiative to promote the role of law towards achieving environmental sustainability and the transition to a low carbon, resource-efficient green economy. Launched today in New York, the World Congress on Justice, Governance and Law for Environmental Sustainability will focus on actions needed to overcome the barriers that are impeding the implementation of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), such as the Convention on Biological Diversity or the Basel Convention on Hazardous Wastes, among others
  
  
• 26 Mar 2012
  Urgent Action Needed to Support Unique Environment and Culture of Mongolia’s Reindeer Herders Community Plays Critical Role in Promoting Biodiversity, But Faces Increasing Threats
  
  Kautokeino (Norway) / Nairobi, 26 March 2012 – Mongolia’s reindeer herders and their forest homeland are facing unprecedented challenges from unregulated mining, logging, water pollution, climate change and some tourism practices, according to a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The study outlines a number of strategies, including increasing reindeer herd sizes and closer monitoring of land use change, that can support both the herders’ ancient culture and the sustainable development of their homeland: the taiga.
  
  
• 22 Mar 2012
  Media Advisory: Launch of World Congress on Justice, Governance and Law for Environmental Sustainability
  Date and Time:  Monday 26 March 2012, 1.15 - 2.15pm 
  Venue: UN Church Center, 777 UN Plaza, New York City (Corner East 44th Street and 1st Avenue) Lunch will be served
  
  With fewer than 100 days until the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Brazil, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and partners are launching a major initiative to promote the role of legal practitioners towards achieving environmental sustainability.
   
  Speakers:
  - Amina Mohamed, UNEP Deputy Executive Director,
  - Bakary Kante, Director, UNEP Division of Environmental Law and Conventions
  - Antonio Herman Benjamin, Justice of the Supreme Court, Brazil
  - Prof. Dr. Zakri bin. Abdul Hamid, Co-Chair, High Level International Advisory Committee for the World Congress
  
  
• 21 Mar 2012
  Aquatic species dominate UN-backed scientific meeting
  Geneva, 21 March 2012 – The 26th meeting of the Animals Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) today moves from Geneva, to continue in Dublin, Ireland, where the committee will convene jointly with the CITES Plants Committee. During the sessions in Geneva, important recommendations were formulated, aimed at ensuring that trade in CITES-listed species of animals is sustainable and based on sound scientific management. The five-days in Geneva focused heavily on aquatic species. Over 150 experts met in Geneva from 15 to 20 March. They recommended cautious export quotas for a variety of species and countries, including seahorses from Southeast Asia, giant clams from the Pacific and sturgeons from the Caspian Sea. Furthermore, the Committee recommended that exports of live dolphins from Solomon Islands should be limited to a maximum of 10 animals a year. The Committee discussed a list of shark species submitted by member States that may require additional action to enhance their conservation and management. 
  
  More: List of Sharks Species
  
  
• 15 Mar 2012
  Leading scientists meet to discuss the criteria for listing sharks and other aquatic species Exploitation levels of sturgeons, snakes, tortoises and freshwater turtles also under review.
  
  Geneva, 15 March 2012 – Over 200 participants from around the world are attending the 26th meeting of the Animals Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to be held in Geneva from 15 to 20 March 2012. Among the topics to be discussed, experts will evaluate the implications of climate change on the management of species in international trade. They will also discuss the scientific criteria to determine when sharks and other aquatic species qualifies for CITES protection.
  
  The CITES Animal Committee provides the technical and scientific advice to help ensure sustainability of international trade in wildlife products obtained from over 4,500 species of animals, including caviar from sturgeons and reptile skins used in luxury goods.
  
  
• 12 Mar 2012
  Value Ecosystems—Not Just Crops—When Managing Water Use, says UN Report
  Marseille (France) /Nairobi, 12 March 2012 – Recognising the valuable services provided by ecosystems such as wetlands and forests – and not only focusing on water productivity in agriculture – can improve livelihoods and help meet the rising demands on the world’s water resources in a sustainable way, according to a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Increasing water productivity and efficiency is a key concern for policymakers in many parts of the world; especially as rising incomes and changing diets are set to increase the demand on water resources that are already under pressure. The UNEP report, entitled Releasing the Pressure: Water Resource Efficiencies and Gains for Ecosystem Services, which was produced by researchers at the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), urges policymakers and resource managers to shift from the traditional focus on water productivity per unit of agricultural yield (“more per crop drop”), to a broader view of the concept, which would include ecosystems services. 
  
  More: Press Release on French
  
  
• 28 Mar 2012
  Expert Mission Studies Japan Earthquake Waste UNEP Testing Method for Estimating Disaster Debris
  
  Tokyo, 5 March 2012 – On the eve of the first anniversary of the worst natural disaster in Japan in a century, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) says the remarkable progress to sort and dispose of millions of tonnes of waste has set new standards for managing post-disaster debris. The Great East Japan Earthquake, and ensuing tsunami, killed more than 15,000 people and destroyed cities and villages along the coast of the country’s Tohoku region, generating about 29 million tonnes of debris in that region alone. Some 3,305 people are still listed as missing, and more than 340,000 evacuees remain. At the request of the Government of Japan, UNEP has today completed a week-long international expert mission to the post-disaster zone, visiting waste management and debris recycling facilities and sharing information and exchanging experiences with people involved in the clean-up effort.
  
  
• 22 Feb 2012
  Nations Commit to Scaling up Environmental Sustainability in UNEP's 40th Anniversary Year The world's environment ministers ended their annual meeting by committing to make the upcoming UN Conference on Sustainable Development 2012 a success
  
  Nairobi, 22 February 2012 – The world's environment ministers ended their annual meeting by committing to make the upcoming UN Conference on Sustainable Development 2012 a success. In a statement, issued on the occasion of UNEP's 40th anniversary, ministers and representative from close to 150 countries described the conference, known as Rio+20 as "a unique opportunity to address the economic, social and environmental challenges in the context of sustainable development".
  
  
• 23 Feb 2012
  Our Planet Magazine
  23 February 2012 – the latest of Our Planet. Please share with interested media in your regions. Language versions are coming later. It's also a special edition with the 40th Anniversary. Our Planet is the flagship magazine of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). It features authoritative articles on the theme of the environment and sustainable development by leaders of UN organizations, national governments, non-governmental organizations, international scientific experts, business leaders and opinion makers.
  
  Latest Issue: February 2012: RIO+20
  
  Previous Issues available on the Web: www.unep.org/Publications/contents/Our_Planet.asp
  To view any of the online issues below, you will need Acrobat Reader.
  If you have trouble viewing a pdf, please right click and save to your computer before opening.
  
  
• 22 Feb 2012
  KIA Motors Donates Fuel-Efficient Cars for Global Competition to Mark WED and UNEP’s 40th Anniversary
  Nairobi, 22 February 2012 – The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) today announced that Brazil, with one of the fastest growing economies in the world, will host World Environment Day 2012 (WED) on 5 June. This year's theme ‘Green Economy: Does it include you? invites everyone to both assess where the Green Economy fits in their daily lives and evaluate whether development through these pathways towards a Green Economy can deliver the kinds of social, economic and environmental outcomes needed in a world of seven billion people, climbing to over nine billion in 2050. Brazil had previously hosted WED in 1992, on the eve of the first Earth Summit, when world leaders, government officials and international organizations met to refocus, recalibrate and deliver a route map towards sustainable development.
  
  
• 21 Feb 2012
  Nigeria’s Ugochi Anyaka Wins UNEP Young Environmental Journalist Award
  Nairobi, 21 February 2012 – A radio journalist from Nigeria has won the United Nations Environment Programme’s Young Environmental Journalist Award (YEJA), beating over 120 entries from reporters across Africa. Ugochi Anyaka (28) received her award at a special ceremony held during the 12th Special Session of the UNEP Governing Council / Global Ministerial Environment Forum in Nairobi, Kenya. The winning report, entitled Saving the Trees for Paper Briquettes, was broadcast on ASO Radio in Nigeria, where Ms. Anyaka works as a journalist and presenter. The radio feature profiled a project in a low-income suburb of Abuja that manufactures briquettes from waste paper, in order to provide an alternative fuel to traditional firewood.
  
  
• 20 Feb 2012
  Overhaul of Global Environmental Governance to Meet 21st Century Challenges Tops Emerging Issues Selected by UN Scientific Panel
  Re-tooling the Global Work Force for a Green Economy and Increased Threats to Food Security and Safety Ranked Second and Third
  
  Findings Come as Global Environment Outlook-5 Summary Released to World’s Environment Ministers at UNEP Governing Council
  
  Nairobi, 20 February 2012 – Pollutants that are short-lived in the atmosphere such as methane, black carbon and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) together account for approximately one-third of current global warming, have significant impacts on public health, the environment, and world food productivity. Fast action to reduce short-lived climate pollutants can have a direct impact on global warming, with the potential to reduce the warming expected by 2050 by as much as 0.5 Celsius degrees. At the same time, by 2030, such action can prevent millions of premature deaths, while also avoiding the annual loss of more than 30 million tons of crops. Moreover, many of these benefits can be achieved at low cost and with significant energy savings. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton today announced the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants, a new global initiative to seize the opportunity of realizing concrete benefits on climate, health, food and energy resulting from reducing short-lived climate pollutants. The coalition will focus efforts on reducing black carbon, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and methane. The founding coalition partners are Bangladesh, Canada, Ghana, Mexico, Sweden, and the United States, together with the UN Environment Programme.
  
  
• 16 Feb 2012
  The Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants
  Washington, DC - 16 February 2012 – Pollutants that are short-lived in the atmosphere such as methane, black carbon and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) together account for approximately one-third of current global warming, have significant impacts on public health, the environment, and world food productivity. Fast action to reduce short-lived climate pollutants can have a direct impact on global warming, with the potential to reduce the warming expected by 2050 by as much as 0.5 Celsius degrees. At the same time, by 2030, such action can prevent millions of premature deaths, while also avoiding the annual loss of more than 30 million tons of crops. Moreover, many of these benefits can be achieved at low cost and with significant energy savings. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton today announced the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants, a new global initiative to seize the opportunity of realizing concrete benefits on climate, health, food and energy resulting from reducing short-lived climate pollutants. The coalition will focus efforts on reducing black carbon, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and methane. The founding coalition partners are Bangladesh, Canada, Ghana, Mexico, Sweden, and the United States, together with the UN Environment Programme.
  
  
• 13 Feb 2012
  From the Depletion of Soil Carbon to Decommissioning Nuclear Reactors
  UNEP Year Book Puts Key Emerging Issues on the Global Radar 12th Special Session of the Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum
  
  Nairobi, 13 February 2012 – Dramatic improvements in the way the world manages its precious soils will be key to food, water and climate security in the 21st century. According to the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Year Book 2012, 24 per cent of the global land area has already suffered declines in health and productivity over the past quarter century as a result of unsustainable land-use. It highlights assessments indicating that some kinds of conventional and intensive agriculture are triggering soil erosion rates some 100 times greater than the rates at which nature can form soil in the first place. By 2030, without changes in the way land is managed, over 20 per cent of terrestrial habitats such as forests, peatlands and grasslands in developing countries alone could be converted to cropland—aggravating losses of vital ecosystem services and biodiversity.
  
  
• 7 Feb 2012
  Top Kenyan Athletes Support Half-Marathon to Celebrate UNEP’s 40th Anniversary
  Nairobi, 7 February 2012 – Kenya’s top runners will join the public later this month for an historic half-marathon in Nairobi that will celebrate the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) four decades of working for the environment and raising public awareness of what needs to be done to ensure the sustainable future of the planet.
  
  Organized by UNEP in partnership with the Paul Tergat Foundation and the Athletics Kenya, the 21-kilometre celebratory run on 19 February will start at the Kenya Technical Teachers College in Gigiri, Nairobi. Champion runners Paul Tergat and Patrick Makau will lend their support to the event. Mr. Tergat held the world marathon record from 2003-2007, while Mr. Makau set the new world marathon record at last year’s Berlin Marathon.
  
  
• 6 Feb 2012
  GREENING EMBASSIES EVENT IN WASHINGTON D.C.
  6 February 2012 – On January 31, The Kingdom of Netherlands Ambassador, Renée Jones-Bos, hosted a reception organized with the Greening Embassies Forum, chaired by the State Department and the District of Columbia, on the occasion of the Royal Netherlands Embassy’s LEED certification. The event featured the signing of a Sustainability Pledge by more than 40 Embassies in addition to a workshop that taught Embassies how to operate in a sustainable way.
  
  
  
  
• 1 Feb 2012
  Open Editorial by Achim Steiner, UN Under Secretary General and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) UNEP and the Green Economy – Four Decades in Development
  Environment Ministers Meeting in Nairobi Will Mark 40th Anniversary
  
  1 February 2012 – 40 years ago in the Swedish capital city of Stockholm history was made at a UN conference on the future of humanity and the planet that would propel Kenya and its capital into the centre of international environmental affairs. Amid rising concern over pollution over the air, the land and the seas; the growing loss of species and the dying of forests as a result of acid rain, governments agreed that a UN body charged with coordinating a global response to such challenges should be established.
  
  More: French Press release
  
• 26 Jan 2012
  Financial Short-Termism a Major Obstacle to Sustainable Change in Business: Expert Poll
  Nairobi/ Paris, 26 January 2012 – Financial short-termism represents a critical barrier to businesses’ transition to sustainability, according to a new poll. The latest wave of The Sustainability Survey - GlobeScan and SustainAbility’s regular survey of attitudes across businesses, NGOs, academia and government - reveals that a very large majority (88%) of the 642 experts polled see pressure for short-term financial results as a barrier to businesses becoming more sustainable. The survey, conducted in December 2011, asked experts to say whether they considered a range of factors as being barriers to increased sustainability by businesses. Although most of those polled identified multiple barriers, financial short-termism was seen as the most significant by some distance.
  
• 25 Jan 2012
  Green Investments in the Marine Sector Can Bring Tide of Economic and Social Benefits Report Spotlights Opportunities for Green Jobs and Growth in Tourism, Transport, Energy and Other Areas
  
  Manila/Nairobi, 25 January 2012 – Healthy seas and coasts would pay healthy dividends in a green economy, according to a report released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and partners that highlights the huge potential for economic growth and poverty eradication from well-managed marine sectors. The report, Green Economy in a Blue World, argues that the ecological health and economic productivity of marine and coastal ecosystems, which are currently in decline around the globe, can be boosted by shifting to a more sustainable economic approach that taps their natural potential - from generating renewable energy and promoting eco-tourism, to sustainable fisheries and transport.
  
• 12 Jan 2012
  UNEP Goodwill Ambassador Gisele Bündchen Backs ‘Small is Beautiful’ Energy Solutions on First Official Fact-finding Mission to Africa International Year of Sustainable Energy for All
  
  Nairobi, 12 January 2012 – On her first official visit to Africa, UNEP Goodwill Ambassador and iconic face of fashion, Gisele Bündchen, went to the grassroots level in Kenya to experience the reality of energy poverty and to see how Kenyans are transforming their lives by accessing sustainable energy. “Energy affects everything. Children can study at night when they have access to electricity. If we can bring electricity to everyone, we can help people to survive,” she told a press conference at the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi. “It’s unjust if people do not have access to electricity. Energy for all is achievable. Just 2% of global investment is needed,” she added, speaking a week before the global launch of the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All (IYSEA).
  
• 12 Jan 2012
  Bayer and United Nations Environment Programme Launch 21st Annual International Children’s Painting Competition on the Environment
  PITTSBURGH, January 12, 2012 – Bayer Corporation and the United Nations Environment Programme’s Regional Office for North America (UNEP RONA) have kicked off the 21st annual International Children’s Painting Competition on the Environment (ICPC). The ICPC, sponsored globally by Bayer AG and regionally in North America by Bayer Corporation, is an environmental education initiative for elementary and middle school students that uses art as its primary instructional vehicle. The theme of this year’s painting competition is Green Communities, and U.S. and Canadian students-- ages six to 14-- are invited to participate and create artwork that illustrates their concerns and hopes for the protection of the environment in their communities, cities and countries. Launch 21st Annual International Children’s Painting Competition on the Environment
  
• 11 Jan 2012
  Mayor Vincent C. Gray and U.N. Environment Programme Announce District Will Be North American Host City for World Environment Day 2012‘Unite For A Sustainable D.C.’ Will Bring Together the D.C. Community in Support of Sustainability Efforts and Activities
  
  Wednesday, January 11, 2012 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Mayor Vincent C. Gray and officials from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) today announced that the organization has named Washington, D.C., as the North American host city for World Environment Day (WED) 2012. With the regional theme, “Unite for a Sustainable D.C.,” UNEP invites area residents and organizations take part in energy-efficiency and sustainability activities during the six weeks linking Earth Day on April 22 and WED on June 5.
  
  To View Event Photo Gallery Please CLICK HERE
• 9 Jan 2012
  Mayor Vincent C. Gray and United Nations Environment Programme Officials to Announce World Environment Day Sustainability PartnershipEvent Will Be Followed by Mayor Gray’s Biweekly Press Briefing
  
  Monday, January 9, 2012 – WHAT/WHO: Mayor Vincent C. Gray, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Regional Office for North America Director Amy Fraenkel, District Department of the Environment (DDOE) Director Christophe Tulou and Earth's Natural Force CEO and World Environment Day (WED) Host Committee Chair Allen Burriss will make a major announcement regarding UNEP's World Environment Day 2012. The event will include musical performances by environmental youth group Earth’s Natural Force Rangers.
  
  
• 4 Jan 2012
  2012: Road to Rio+20 - Fresh Opportunity to Scale-Up Sustainable Development? 2012 also marks the 40th anniversary of the environment programme of the UN.
  
  Wenesday, January 4, 2012 – The UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) as it is formally known and now scheduled for later in June will address two over-arching themes-a Green Economy in the context of sustainable development and an institutional framework for sustainable development.
  
  RIO+20, envisaged as a summit involving heads of state, comes 20 years after the Rio Earth Summit of 1992 that set the course for contemporary sustainable development and established the climate change, biodiversity and desertification treaties as well as a forum on forests.
  
  It also comes four decades after the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment that led to the establishment of UNEP-thus 2012 also marks the 40th anniversary of the environment programme of the UN.
  
  
• 20 Dec 2011
  New Phase for UNEP’s Climate Neutral Network
  Nairobi, 20 December 2011 – The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has announced the closure of the Climate Neutral Network (CN Net). Members of the web-based platform, which allowed companies, organizations, cities and states to showcase their climate neutral strategies, and to share and access information and ideas with fellow participants, are being invited to approach other similar platforms to continue their climate neutral efforts. Beginning with just 13 participants, the network today consists of 300 members, who have demonstrated their commitment to low carbon growth at international climate forums and other events.
  
  More on: New Phase for UNEP’s Climate Neutral Network
  
  
• 14 Dec 2011
  UN System Provides Its Perspectives on a Green Economy - A “People-Centered” approach emphasized
  New York, 14 December 2011 – Against a backdrop of the multiple crises of the past four years -- financial, economic, food and energy -- the United Nations today launched a report that offers UN agencies and its member states guidance for coordinating the transition to a Green Economy at the international and country levels. In the first-ever inter-agency report on the Green Economy, the Environment Management Group (EMG), representing the work of UN agencies, the Bretton Woods Institutions and other intergovernmental bodies -- many of whom have a human and social development mandate – outlines steps and policies for pursuing a green economic transformation that generates new sources of sustainable and equitable economic growth that will assist in a global economic recovery. Such action will require investing in not only clean-technologies and natural capital, but also in human and social capital, including education, health care, cultural development and social protection. The new report, Working towards a Balanced and Inclusive Green Economy, reflects a growing recognition of the shortcomings of business-as-usual practiced by both the public and private sector institutions over the last two decades and assesses how the UN system can coherently support countries in transitioning to a Green Economy.
  
  More on: UN Environment Management Group Programme
  
  
• 13 Dec 2011
  New UN iPhone Application Highlights Role of Ecosystems in Tackling Climate Change
  Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates)/ Nairobi, 13 December 2011 – How many mangroves does it take to offset a transatlantic flight? What consumer actions can we take to reduce damage to rainforests? Answers to these questions and many more are provided by a new iPhone application launched by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) at the Eye on Earth summit in Abu Dhabi today. The UNEP application draws attention to the critical role played by ecosystems such as salt marshes, mangroves, tropical forests and seagrasses in tackling climate change.
  
  
• 8 Dec 2011
  Reduced Emissions from Deforestation Opening Window for Green Economy Transition New Partnerships Emerging from Climate Change Action that are Accelerating Sustainability Strategies
  
  Durban (South Africa) / Nairobi, 8 December 2011 – Countries across the developing world are engaging with developed country governments and the private sector to simultaneously reduce emissions from forests and fast track transitions to a low carbon, resource efficient Green Economy. These multiple benefits of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) were the focus of a side event at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP17) in Durban today – in particular plans by Indonesia to utilize around US$1 billion-worth of funding from Norway under REDD+. “In the same way that the Green Economy promotes sustainable, low carbon and resource-efficient economic growth, REDD+ also explicitly addresses the need for a balance between income growth, jobs and social equity”, said United Nations Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.
  
  
• 6 Dec 2011
  Women Most at Risk from Climate Disasters, Says UN Report Investment in Green Technologies Can Improve Women’s Climate Adaptation Capacity & Livelihood Opportunities
  Increase in Human Trafficking Associated with Climate-related Disasters
  
  Durban / Nairobi, 6 December 2011 – Women, particularly those living in mountain regions in developing countries, are facing disproportionately high risks to their livelihoods and health from climate change, as well as associated risks such as human trafficking, according to a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Investing in low carbon, resource efficient green technologies, water harvesting and fuel wood alternatives can strengthen climate change adaptation and improve women’s livelihoods, says the report, Women at the Frontline of Climate Change: Gender Risks and Hopes, released at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP17) in Durban, South Africa, Impacts of climate change, such as droughts, floods and mud slides are affecting a growing number of people worldwide. From 1999–2008, floods affected almost one billion people in Asia, 28 million in the Americas, 22 million in Africa and four million in Europe.
  
  
• 5 Dec 2011
  Changes in Climate Trends Already Impacting Livelihoods and Food Security in the Sahel and West Africa Joint study calls for major investments in climate change adaptation to reduce the risk of conflict and forced migration
  
  Durban, 5 December 2011 – New evidence of changing climate trends in the Sahel and West Africa and their potentially profound implications for food security and regional stability has been released today at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, adding to the pressure on governments to stay on a course to reach a new international climate agreement. A joint study has analyzed regional trends in temperature, rainfall, droughts and flooding over the past 40 years and their implications for the availability of natural resources, livelihoods, migration and conflict in 17 West African countries from the Atlantic coast to Chad. The analysis detects significant changes in regional climatic conditions, including an overall rise in mean seasonal temperature from 1970 to 2006 of approximately 1°C, with a greater increase of between 1.5°C to 2°C observed in far eastern Chad and northern Mali and Mauritania.
  
  
• 1 Dec 2011
   'Green’  the new color of rice as the world’s most important food crop gets sustainability target UNEP launches global rice initiative
  
  Nairobi/Manila, 1 December 2011 – Rice consumers worldwide can now look forward to eating “green” rice with the launch of an initiative that will set environmentally sustainable and socially responsible rice production management standards.
  
  The Sustainable Rice Platform, an initiative of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and founding members Louis Dreyfus Commodities and Kellogg Company, will elevate rice production to a new level by helping farmers – whether subsistence or market-focused – boost their rice production, keep the environment healthy, facilitate safer working conditions, and generate higher incomes to address poverty and improve food security.
  
  
• 28 Nov 2011
  Efforts to Conserve Migratory Species Strengthened at UN Conference Priority Given to Ecological Networks, Climate Change Mitigation and Reduced Incidental Mortality
  
  Bergen (Norway) / Bonn, 28 November 2011 – Efforts to conserve seven migratory species, from the Giant Manta Ray to the Saker Falcon, have been strengthened following a major United Nations conference on conservation.
  
  More than 80 governments met from 20 – 25 November in Bergen, Norway, for the tenth Conference of the Parties to the UN Environment Programme's (UNEP) Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS).
  
  Proposals to strengthen conservation of endangered land and sea animals that cross international borders were considered and approved.
  
  
• 24 Nov 2011
  UN Wildlife Meeting Pushes to Make Power Lines Safer for Birds International Reports Address Impact of Power Lines on Migratory Birds, Offering Solutions to Avoid Collisions and Electrocution
  
  Thursday, 24 November 2011 – Two new international reports, covering the threat of increasing numbers of power lines on migratory birds in the African-Eurasian region, are being presented for review to delegates at a UN wildlife conference. Power lines constitute one of the major causes of unnatural death for birds both through electrocution and fatal collisions. At end of 2010 there were 70.5 million kilometers of power lines throughout the world, constructed with minimal consideration for their environmental impact. This is expected to increase to 76.2 million kilometers by the end of 2015.
  
  
• 23 Nov 2011
  Bridging the Emissions Gap to Meet 2-Degree Target Do-able New UNEP Report Outlines the Pathways to 2020 Able to Deliver the Additional 6 to 11 Gigatonne Cuts Needed to Get World onto Safe track
  
  London/Nairobi, 23 November 2011 – Cutting emissions by 2020 to a level that could keep a global, 21st century, temperature rise under 2 degrees C is technologically and economically feasible, says a comprehensive new study released today by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
  
  Accelerated uptake of renewable energy, fuel switching and energy efficiency improvements can deliver a large slice of the necessary cuts.
   
  Other measures include sectoral improvements ranging from increased penetration of public transport and more fuel efficient vehicles to ones in areas, such as, agriculture and waste management.
  
  More: Press Release in French.
  
  
• 23 Nov 2011
  Conservation Efforts to Help Bring Back the Bukhara Deer, the Bactrian Camel and the Asiatic Wild Ass to Central Asia
  Wednesday, 23 November 2011 – Almost half a century ago, the Bukhara deer – a species endemic to Central Asia – disappeared from the forests along the Syrdarya river in Kazakhstan due to unsustainable agricultural practices, logging and shrub felling on river banks, overgrazing by livestock, and uncontrolled hunting. This flagship species of Central Asia has since been reintroduced to Karatchingil in Kazakhstan and Badai-tugai in Uzbekistan thanks to the conservation efforts of Central Asian governments to protect the natural habitat, locally known as tugai forests, which are characterized by thickets of trees and grassy clearings interspersed with wetlands.
  
  
• 22 Nov 2011
  UNEP/CMS Awards Elephant Researcher for Bee Solution to Reducing Human-Animal Conflicts in Kenya
  Tuesday, 22 November 2011 – UNEP/CMS will confer the Thesis Award to British biologist, Dr. Lucy E. King, whose research on reducing conflict between humans and elephants has triggered quite a buzz in Kenya. Her research, based on the fact that elephants are scared about being stung by bees, has led to an innovative beehive fence that is assisting to reduce conflicts between the world’s largest terrestrial mammal and local people in Kenya.
  
  
• 21 Nov 2011
  World Wildlife Hubs for Migratory Species at Risk UN Calls for International Collaboration to Safeguard Wildlife Frequent Travellers
  
  Monday, 21 November 2011 – The world is covered by billions of invisible migratory pathways. On land, in the water and in the air, animals on the move depend on the availability of critical sites along their annual journeys. These world wildlife hubs are vital for the animals to refuel and reproduce – one missing link can jeopardize an entire population. But much like modern transport systems with airports, railways and roads, migratory species have similar networks spanning the globe. Many of these hubs are under intense pressure from human development and the exploitation of natural resources. Today, representatives from near 100 governments came together for a UN conference in Bergen, Norway, to help safeguard migratory wildlife.
  
  
• 21 Nov 2011
  2 Degree Celsius Climate Target at Risk from Ozone-Friendly Replacement Chemicals New UNEP Report Urges Fast Action on HFCs to Combat Climate Change
  23rd Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol
  
  Bali (Indonesia)/Nairobi, 21 November 2011 – Keeping a global, 21st century temperature rise under 2 degrees Celsius will require urgent action on a group of chemicals increasingly being used in products such as air conditioners, refrigerators, firefighting equipment and insulation foams. The chemicals, collectively known as Hydroflurocarbons (HFCs), are becoming popular as replacements for those phased-out or being phased-out to protect the ozone layer—the Earth’s high flying shield that filters out dangerous levels of the sun’s ultra violet rays. But a report launched today by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) projects that by 2050 HFCs could be responsible for emissions equivalent to 3.5 to 8.8 Gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon dioxide (Gt CO2eq)---comparable to total current annual emissions from transport, estimated at around 6-7 Gt annually.
  
  
• 16 Nov 2011
  On the Eve of Rio+20, Countries Accelerating Plans for a Transition to a Green Economy
  Beijing, 16 November 2011 – A new UN report demonstrates that governments and businesses alike are taking steps to accelerate a global shift towards a low-carbon, resource-efficient and socially inclusive green future.
  
  From China to Barbados, Brazil to South Africa, countries are developing Green Economy strategies and activities to spur greater economic growth and jobs, environmental protection and equality.
  
  In a statement issued on the release of UNEP’s flagship report, Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said: "With the world looking ahead to the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development in June 2012, the UNEP Green Economy report challenges the myth that there is a trade-off between the economy and the environment. With smart public policies, governments can grow their economies, generate decent employment and accelerate social progress in a way that keeps humanity's ecological footprint within the planet's carrying capacity."
  
  
• 14 Nov 2011
  New Book Highlights Importance of High-Value Natural Resources to Peacebuilding in War-Torn Nations
  (WASHINGTON, DC; NAIROBI; TOKYO; MONTREAL; OSLO) 14 November 2011 – The overriding importance of political will to rebuild sound institutions, promote accountability and anti-corruption efforts, better invest revenues, and develop natural resource management strategies which address the grievances that could lead to further conflict is among the findings in the first book in a major international series on post-conflict peacebuilding and natural resource management.
  
  
• 1 Nov 2011
  New UNEP Report Tracks the Changing Global Environment over the Past Two Decades as World Population Hits 7 BillionNew Report Lays-out the Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Development up to Rio+20 and beyond
  
  Nairobi, 1 November 2011 – The environmental changes that have swept the planet over the last twenty years are spotlighted in a new compilation of statistical data by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), released today in a report entitled “Keeping Track of our Changing Environment: From Rio to Rio+20”. The report is produced as part of UNEP’s “Global Environmental Outlook-5” (GEO -5) series, the UN’s most authoritative assessment of the state, trends and outlook of the global environment. The full GEO-5 report will be launched next May, one month ahead of the Rio+20 Conference taking place in Brazil. UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, Achim Steiner, said, “Today marks the deadline for governments, business and civil society to submit their submissions for how Rio+20 can deliver a transformational outcome in terms of accelerating and scaling-up sustainable development for now seven billion people”.
  
  
• 24 Oct 2011
  Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises Suffer Dramatic Declines from Bycatch in Fishing Nets
  Bonn, 24 October 2011 – For 86 per cent of all toothed whale species, entanglement in gillnets, traps, weirs, purse seines, longlines and trawls is resulting in an unsustainably high death toll. This is among the findings of a report published today by the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals under the UN Environment Programme. (UNEP/CMS). The report is an encyclopaedia on the 72 species of toothed whales compiled by Professor Boris Culik of Kiel University in Germany and represents the most recent scientific findings on the distribution, migration, behaviour and threats to this suborder of the cetaceans, which includes sperm whales, beaked whales, porpoises and dolphins which have teeth rather than the baleen of other whales. 
• 24 Oct 2011
  New Research Reveals Pathways for Action on Climate Change Paper offers options to scale up climate action globally in Durban, Rio and beyond
  
  Washington, 24 October 2011 – Studies show that the world’s aggregate level of effort on climate change mitigation is not in line with the science and existing country commitments are insufficient to adequately address climate change. A new paper published by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), with the support of the Government of Ireland, entitled Building the Climate Change Regime: Survey and Analysis of Approaches, reviews more than 130 proposals put forward by governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and academics to design a climate regime capable of delivering adequate mitigation action.
  
  More on: Building the Climate Change Regime
• 19 Oct 2011
  Launch of New Paper Building the Climate Change Regime: Survey and Analysis of Approaches
  Washington, 19 October 2011 – A month from now, countries will gather in Durban, South Africa to try to reach agreement on an ambitious programme for tackling climate change. The world’s aggregate level of effort on climate change mitigation is not in line with the science. In a call to do more, the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), with the support of the Government of Ireland, are launching a paper that outlines various options put forward by governments, NGOs and academics for designing a climate regime capable of delivering adequate mitigation action. The paper, entitled Building the Climate Change Regime: Survey and Analysis of Approaches, shows that a menu of options is available for scaling up action on the part of national governments and designing a climate regime capable of delivering adequate mitigation action.
• 20 Oct 2011
  Global leaders point way to economic recovery at UN summit  Gordon Brown, Mary Robinson and 20 CEOs call for sustainable financial sector reform
  
  Washington D.C., October 20 2011 – With economic recovery topping the United States and global political agenda, a group of CEOs, major investors and bankers together with former United Kingdom Prime Minister Gordon Brown and President of Ireland Mary Robinson called for a far-reaching reform of the global financial system at a summit which ended in Washington D.C. today. Amid a growing wave of protests highlighting economic concerns in countries from the US to the UK, Japan and Greece, more than 500 movers and shakers from around the world met at the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative Global Roundtable (UNEP FI) summit to find sustainable solutions to tackle the drivers of market volatility and address the deepening rift between the rich and the poor.
• 18 Oct 2011
  Climate Change Demands New Decision-Making Strategies by National Leaders, Says New Report  WRI, UNDP, UNEP and World Bank release major report: Decision Making in a Changing Climate
  
  WASHINGTON (OCTOBER 18, 2011) – In light of recent extreme weather events, as well as long-term disruptions related to climate change, a major new report calls for different approaches to decision making by national leaders. The report, entitled Decision Making in a Changing Climate, explores challenges and offers recommendations for national-level government officials to make informed and effective decisions to respond to the changing climate. The report, produced by the World Resources Institute, UNDP, UNEP, and the World Bank, is the latest edition of the influential World Resources Report.
• 17 Oct 2011
  Media advisory for the 19-20 October UNEP FI Global Roundtable Washington/Geneva, Oct 11 2011 – With the drive for economic recovery topping the US and global political agenda, the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) is organizing a landmark summit on financial sustainability and market stability in Washington, D.C. The 2011 Global Roundtable entitled, The Tipping Point: Sustained Stability in the Next Economy, comes at a crucial time for both decision-makers and the US general public. The recent financial crises are a stark reminder that instability is never too far away when markets are left exposed to long-term risks. The Roundtable will bring together more than 100 speakers – including 20 CEOs and two former heads of government – who will consider the emerging role of sustainable finance in reforming the financial sector to ensure greater long-term stability in the world economy.
• 14 Oct 2011
  UN Climate Change Adaptation Initiative Introduces Bees for Business 10/14/2011  Bees are the Earth’s chief pollinators
  
  Gwangju, 13 October 2011 – For Haleka Shishay, being unemployed left him feeling desperate. A resident of the Tahtai Maichew district in Ethiopia's Tigray region, Shishay used to travel during the rainy season to find seasonal work. That was before bees came into his life. Today, Shishay, 25, is the proud owner of bee hives that now give him a regular income. Shishay is one of 600 unemployed youth who have been trained in the bee business by the Climate Change Adaptation and Development Initiative (CC DARE), jointly implemented by UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and UN Development Programme (UNDP). The initiative seeks to create opportunities for integrating climate change adaptation projects among communities in Sub-Saharan countries and Small Island Developing States.
• 13 Oct 2011
  Making the Economic Case for Greening Cities Significant Slice of GDP Being Lost Through Poor Urban Planning
  
  Gwangju, 13 October 2011 – Improved planning and more intelligent management of cities across the developed and developing world could play a key role in growing economies, boosting social improvements and reducing humanity’s environmental footprint. Findings from the Green Economy report of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) indicate that current patterns of urban development could be costing countries over three per cent of GDP as a result of congestion to welfare costs. The cities chapter of the report, released at the Gwangju Summit of the Urban Environmental Accords in the Republic of Korea, cites Buenos Aires and Dakar as two examples where current patterns of urban development are reducing GDP by 3.4 per cent. Current models of urban development in a city like Mexico City may be undermining the economy by over two per cent of GDP and in the European Union a lower but still significant 0.75 per cent of GDP.
• 6 Oct 2011
  UNEP JOINS CAMPAIGN TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FOR WORLD OF 7 BILLION New York, 6 October 2011 – The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) today joined the 7 Billion Actions campaign, an initiative to encourage individuals, governments, businesses and organizations to take positive actions towards creating a more sustainable world with 7 billion inhabitants. The world’s population is set to hit the 7 billion mark on 31 October, bringing into focus the challenges of ensuring sustainable development and a fair share of the planet’s resources for a growing global population. Coordinated by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the campaign aims to capitalize on the population milestone by promoting global cooperation on health, environmental sustainability, poverty and inequality, urbanization and other critical issues.
• 4 Oct 2011
  UNEP ANNOUNCES CO-COMMISSIONER-GENERALS FOR EXPO 2012 Nairobi, 1 October 2011 – The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has announced the appointments by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of Amina Mohamed and Samuel Koo, as the co-Commissioner Generals of Expo 2012, which will take place in the coastal city of Yeosu, Republic of Korea. UNEP has been designated by the UN Secretary-General to be the lead agency for the Expo whose theme, “The Living Ocean and Coast”, will showcase initiatives for achieving sustainability in the marine and coastal environments. Ms. Mohamed, a Kenyan national and Deputy Director of UNEP, is an experienced diplomat with a distinguished career in multilateral relations. She will be responsible for coordinating the UN's system-wide activities in respect to Expo 2012. A communications and public relations specialist, Mr. Koo who is a Republic of Korea national, has had a long and distinguished career internationally with the UN and in media. He will be responsible for the local coordination of the Expo activities.
• 1 Oct 2011
  Young People Representing Half the Planet Campaign to Make Rio+20 a Green Economy Hit Social Networking to Mobilizing Communities Spotlighted to Awaken World Leaders to Back a Sustainable Century
  
  UNEP Tunza International Children and Youth Conference
  27 September to 1 October 2011
  
  Bandung, Indonesia, 1 October 2011 – While some UN conferences can become over-preoccupied with commas and square brackets, young people from across the globe today underlined their singular and committed preoccupation--action to save and fast track a future for planet Earth.  
  
  The delegates, representing all the regions of the world and over 100 countries, were in Bandung, Indonesia, for a unique five-day event that has also put the final touches to children and youth's requests to governments attending the Rio+20 conference in Brazil next year.
  
  More: Bandung Declaration
• 27 Sep 2011
  UNEP Children and Youth Conference Spotlights Job Opportunities in a Green Economy But Lack of Green Job Initiatives and Skill Shortages May Constrain Employment Growth and the Transition to Sustainable Development
  
  Tunza--Children and Youth on the Road to Rio+20
  
  Bandung (Indonesia) / Nairobi, 27 September 2011 – Urgently bridging the skills gap among young people through improved education and training will be one of the keys towards delivering a global Green Economy. The claim was made today at the opening of the Tunza International Conference for Children and Youth taking place in Bandung, Indonesia, with over 1,400 young participants. Nearly 40 percent of the world’s unemployed -- over 80 million people—are between the ages of 15 and 24. According to the latest estimates, more than 36 million of them live in Asia and the Pacific. Accessing “Green Jobs”—that are good for the environment and good for business -- will be critical for achieving sustainable development goals ranging from eradicating poverty to accelerated growth in sectors such as sustainable agriculture to renewable energies, which are also part of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).  
• 26 Sep 2011
  UNEP Pays Tribute to Professor Wangari Maathai Nairobi, 26 September 2011– Professor Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, founder of Kenya's Green Belt Movement and patron of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Billion Tree Campaign, has died in Nairobi. She was 71 years old. Professor Maathai was one of Africa's foremost environmental campaigners, internationally recognized for her commitment to democracy, human rights and conservation. She founded the Green Belt Movement in 1977, encouraging women in rural Kenya to plant trees in order to improve their livelihoods through better access to clean water, firewood for cooking and other resources. Since then, the Green Belt Movement has planted over 30 million trees in Africa and assisted nearly 900,000 women to establish tree nurseries and plant trees to reverse the effects of deforestation.
• 27 Sep 2011
  13-Year-Old Artist from Philippines Wins International Children’s Painting Competition on the Environment Twentieth Anniversary of Competition Sees Over 600,000 Entries from 99 Countries
  Bandung (Indonesia) / Nairobi – A love of walking in forests in her home country of the Philippines inspired the winning entry of 13-year-old Trisha Co Reyes in the 2011 International Children’s Painting Competition on the Environment. Trisha beat over 600,000 other young people to win first place in the competition, which is organised by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).  Trisha’s entry shows a young girl pulling back a large grey curtain covered in images of dying trees in a polluted landscape, to reveal a colorful forest filled with abundant wildlife. She says the painting is an appeal for people to appreciate the value of forests and to encourage them to plant trees.  
  
  More: Winning Paintings, List of Winners
• 22 Sep 2011
  U.S. Green Building Council, UN Environment Programme and World Business Council for Sustainable Development Announce Partnership on Rio+20 “Road to Rio+20” effort will highlight regional innovation in green building and sustainable cities, in preparation for United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012
  Washington, DC – Using World Green Building Week 2011 as a platform, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the United Nations Environment Programme’s Regional Office for North America (UNEP RONA) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) announced a new initiative today to highlight the important role of buildings and cities in the green economy.   Scheduled to launch in Toronto at the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo on October 4-6, the “Road to Rio+20” initiative will engage private sector leaders, civil society and local government officials in highlighting examples of the green economy in action, with a focus on energy efficiency in buildings and sustainable cities. Events will take place in locations across North America throughout the coming year.
• 19 Sep 2011
  Asia-Pacific – Big Resource Efficiency Gains Key Opportunity for 21st Century Prosperity New UNEP Report Makes Compelling Case for Transition to Green Economy
  Beijing – A new ‘green’ industrial revolution is needed in the Asia-Pacific region that catalyzes dramatic improvements in resource efficiency if the countries and communities there are to prosper in the 21st century.A new report launched today estimates that per capita resource consumption of ‘materials’ in the region, such as construction minerals and fuels, needs to be around 80 per cent less than today if sustainable development is to be achieved. The report, prepared by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and partners including the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, says Asia Pacific’s dynamic growth of the past few decades has reduced poverty and increased wealth and per capita incomes.
• 19 Sep 2011
  United Nations Opens ‘Idea Box’ for Rio+20 Conference Invites Civil Society to Contribute Ideas To broaden participation in next year’s United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), the United Nations has invited representatives from nine key constituencies, known as major groups, to submit ideas on how the world can move towards sustainable development — a process aimed at promoting economic prosperity and improving the quality of life for everyone, while protecting the environment for present and future generations.
• 16 Sep 2011
  Join us at UNEP and GEF's Open Forum on the Carbon Benefits Project on Tuesday, 11 October 2011 The Global Environment Facility and the United Nations Environment Programme are pleased to announce an Open Forum on the Carbon Benefits Project (CBP). The CBP developed a suite of tools and methodologies to measure, monitor, and model carbon stock changes and greenhouse gas emissions. At the Open Forum, you will have the opportunity to learn more about the CBP from the project scientists, and to test the tools.
• 15 Sep 2011
  THE SECRETARY-GENERAL'S MESSAGE ON THE INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THE OZONE LAYERHCFC phase-out: a unique opportunity
  The international community adopted the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer to protect the earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation. In more than 24 years of successful implementation, the Protocol has been gradually strengthened to cover the phase-out of nearly 100 ozone-depleting substances. The latest adjustments were adopted in 2007 to accelerate the phase-out of hydrochlorofluorocarbons, or HCFCs.
  More: French press release
• 13 Sep 2011
  United Nations-convened coalition of financiers warns of huge costs of failure to protect forests beyond Kyoto Geneva, 13 September 2011 A coalition of the world’s foremost financial institutions brought together by the United Nations warn in a report released Tuesday against the huge financial and environmental losses that could stem from a post-Kyoto climate change deal that fails to spur private sector investment into deforestation and forest egradation reduction efforts. With the new report, REDDy-Set-Grow Part II: Recommendations for international climate change negotiators, over 200 leading actors of the financial sector united under a partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) call on country negotiators at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to follow through with their previous commitment, incorporated into the 2010 Cancun Agreements, to an international policy architecture for deforestation and forest degradation reduction in developing countries (a scheme known as REDD+).
• 9 Sep 2011
  New UNEP FI report to put forest-carbon markets global regime in focus ahead of Durban talks
  Date: 13 September, 2011
  Event: Online webinar launch and discussion
  Time: 9:00 am BST or 4:00 pm BST (sessions will be identical)
  
  The United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) is pleased to invite you to join an online discussion with leading financial and government representatives to mark the launch of a landmark UNEP FI report on forest finance policy. Launched ahead of international climate change negotiations in Durban, South Africa later this year, REDDy-Set-Grow: Part II - Recommendations for international climate change negotiators provides policy-makers and negotiators with recommendations for features of an international climate change agreement on forests that will effectively mobilise private finance flows.
• 1 Sep 2011
  NOMINATIONS OPEN FOR UNEP’S CHAMPIONS OF THE EARTH AWARD 2012 Awards Come in Run Up to Rio+20 and UNEP's 40th Anniversary Celebrations
  
  Nairobi, 1 September 2011 - - Nominations are now open for the 2012 Champions of the Earth -- the United Nations' flagship environment award that recognizes outstanding visionaries and leaders in the fields of policy, science, entrepreneurship and civil society action. Next year’s award ceremony comes in the run up to Rio+20 or two decades after the Rio Earth Summit of 1992 that established treaties on biodiversity, climate change and land desertification and set the course for contemporary sustainable development.
• 25 Aug 2011
  Biodiversity community comes together in Geneva to launch the United Nations Decade on BiodiversityMontreal, 19 August 2010 - In conjunction with the 61st meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Government of Switzerland, in partnership with the Japanese presidency of the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) hosted the official launch of the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity for Europe with the participation of the secretariats of CITES, CBD and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. The meeting was attended by the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, Mr. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
• 25 Aug 2011
  Green Investments in Water Sector Could Pay Huge Dividends for Human Health, Food Security and Economic GrowthGreen Economy Report Outlines Investment Strategies to Help Reduce Water Scarcity
  Stockholm, 25 August 2010 - Investing 0.16 per cent of global GDP in the water sector could reduce water scarcity and halve the number of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation in less than four years, according to United Nations research released today. Currently, the failure to invest in water services and to collect, treat and re-use water efficiently, is exacerbating water shortages in many parts of the world and contributing to a situation where global demand for water could outstrip supply within 20 years. In the water chapter of its ground-breaking Green Economy Report, released during the World Water Week conference in Stockholm, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said investing in sanitation and drinking water, strengthening local water supply systems, conserving ecosystems critical for water supply, and developing more effective policies can help avert the high social and economic costs resulting from inadequate water supplies.
  More: Press release in French
• 22 Aug 2011
  UNEP Press Release: Investing in Ecosystem Services Vital to Improving Food Security, says UNNairobi/Stockholm, 22 August 2010 - Recognising healthy ecosystems as the basis for sustainable water resources and stable food security can help produce more food per unit of agricultural land, improve resilience to climate change and provide economic benefits for poor communities, according to a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), in partnership with 19 other organizations.
• 10 Aug 2011
  Sustainability and Rio+20 at Forefront of United Nations North American Youth NetworkWashington, D.C./Berkeley, California - Fifteen (15) young environmental leaders, between the ages of 18 and 24 from the United States and Canada, will meet at the University of California at Berkeley on 11-12 August 2011 to participate in the third Tunza North America (Tunzana) Youth Network Conference. Tunza, the name of the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) children and youth program, is a Swahili word meaning to treat with care and affection.
  More: Photos from the event
• 4 Aug 2011
  UNEP Ogoniland Oil Assessment Reveals Extent of Environmental Contamination and Threats to Human HealthDrinking Water Pollution in Some Places So Serious Immediate Emergency Action Needed
  Abuja – The environmental restoration of Ogoniland could prove to be the world’s most wide-ranging and long term oil clean-up exercise ever undertaken if contaminated drinking water, land, creeks and important ecosystems such as mangroves are to be brought back to full, productive health.A major new independent scientific assessment, carried out by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), shows that pollution from over 50 years of oil operations in the region has penetrated further and deeper than many may have supposed.
  More: Press release in French
• 3 Aug 2011
  UNEP Wins UN21 Award for Climate NeutralityNew York / Nairobi - The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has received the UN21 Award for Climate Neutrality from the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. UNEP was unveiled as the co-winner of the award along with the UN Department of Field Support during a ceremony at the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium at UN Headquarters in New York. Held every year, the UN 21 Awards recognize outstanding initiatives by United Nations staff members or teams to improve the delivery of the Organization's programmes and promote its values. The winners' stories are intended to inspire other staff members to follow their example, replicate good practices and make strides to improve the delivery of UN programmes and services.
• 2 Aug 2011
  New Move to Develop Global Standards for Measuring Energy Use in Buildings Paris / Nairobi - Efforts to establish international standards for measuring energy use in buildings have received a boost, after the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) decided to consider an innovative tool developed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to gauge energy consumption and CO₂ emissions in homes and offices across the world. The Common Carbon Metric (CCM) - developed by UNEP's Sustainable Buildings and Climate Initiative - could form the basis for a new international standard for measuring the environmental performance of existing buildings. The ISO - the world's largest developer and publisher of international standards, covering 162 countries - will develop relevant methods.
• 25 Jul 2011
  Amina Mohamed Today Takes Up Her Post as Deputy Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme

  Nairobi—Amina Mohamed of Kenya today formally took up office as Deputy Executive Director (DED) of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Ms. Mohamed, who is also an Assistant-Secretary General of the UN, met with her new staff and colleagues and said she was looking forward to the challenge of UNEP’s evolving reform agenda and work programme. She will also, among her many roles, be providing political and substantive input to Rio+20—the UN Conference on Sustainable Development 2012 scheduled in Brazil next June-- and beyond.
• 19 Jul 2011
  Scientists Discuss Trade in Marine Species and Reptiles used in Luxury ProductsGeneva  - Scientists from around the world are gathering in Geneva for a meeting of the United Nations-backed international organization aimed at regulating trade in endangered species. The 25th meeting of the Animals Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) will focus on fish and reptile leathers, which are often used in luxury goods.
• 12 Jul 2011
  Continued Global Growth of Renewable Energy in 2010 Renewable energy supplied an estimated 16% of global final energy consumption; Solar PV more than doubled thanks to declining costs; Global Investments in Renewables Up Over 30% to a Record $211 billion; Emerging and Developing Economies Increase Share of Policies, Investment, Supply and Use; REN21 launches Renewables Interactive Map
  ParisThe REN21 Renewables 2011 Global Status Report released today shows that the renewable energy sector continues to perform well despite continuing economic recession, incentive cuts, and low natural-gas prices.  In 2010, renewable energy supplied an estimated 16% of global final energy consumption and delivered close to 20% of global electricity production. Renewable capacity now comprises about a quarter of total global power-generating capacity.  Including all hydropower (estimated 30 GW added in 2010), RE accounted for approximately 50% of total added power generating capacity in 2010.
  More: Press release in French
• 7 Jul 2011
  Global Investments in Green Energy Up Nearly a Third to US$211 billionChina, developing countries are now biggest investors in large-scale renewables while Germany surges ahead on rooftop solar; Positive trend in government research and development in renewables spotlighted—up over 120 per cent to well over US$5 billion; UNEP and Frankfurt School launch Collaborating Centre for Climate and Sustainable Energy Finance
  Wind farms in China and small-scale solar panels on rooftops in Europe were largely responsible for last year’s 32% rise in green energy investments worldwide, according to the latest annual report on renewable energy investment trends issued by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Last year, investors pumped a record US$211 billion into renewables -- about one-third more than the US$160 billion invested in 2009, and a 540% rise since 2004.  For the first time, developing economies overtook developed ones in terms of "financial new investment"--spending on utility-scale renewable energy projects and provision of equity capital for renewable energy companies.
• 5 Jul 2011
  Applications for 2011 SEED Awards Now OpenNairobi – Social and environmental entrepreneurs who can demonstrate innovation, leadership and sustainability have the chance to win expert assistance and support for their sustainable development initiatives in the 2011 SEED Awards. The SEED Initiative — hosted by the UN Environment Programme’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC)  — is a global partnership for action on the Green Economy. The annual SEED Awards help to develop the most promising social and environmental start-ups in emerging economies and developing countries. SEED Award winners will receive expert advice on developing their business plans, take part in tailor-made workshops to enhance their skills and benefit from high-level profiling of their initiatives through the SEED Initiative’s international network of businesses, governments and development institutions.
• 17 Jun 2011
  Investing in Arid Zone Forests Can Reduce Poverty and Help Transition Towards Green Economy: Message from UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner on the occasion of the World Day to Combat Desertification, 17 June 2011 Nairobi—Today, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) joins hands with the Secretariat of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification and dryland countries and communities across the globe.  This year’s theme for the World Day to Combat Desertification is “Forests Keep Drylands Working”.   A theme relevant to the 2011 UN International Year of Forests and a theme that speaks to the crucial and inseparable link between these two ecosystems in terms of lives and livelihoods and the urgent need to fight poverty.  Today, some 18% of the global dryland system is occupied by forests and woodland. Half of the world's livestock lives off arid zone forests and many of the 2 billion people who live in the world's drylands depend on these forests for their food and energy needs.
• 14 Jun 2011
  Complementary Action to Curb ‘Soot’ and ‘Smog’ Pollution Could Help Limit Global Temperature Rise to 2 Degrees or Less Multiple Benefits Include Improved Air Quality and Human Health, Higher Crop Yields, Reduced Rate of Climate Change in the Near-Term and a Chance to Slow Serious Melting of the Arctic
  New UNEP-WMO Assessment Complements Urgent Action Needed to Cut CO2 Emissions Under UN Climate Treaty
  Bonn - Fast action on pollutants such as black carbon, ground level ozone and methane may help limit near term global temperature rise and significantly increase the chances of keeping temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius, and perhaps even 1.5 degrees Celsius, a new assessment says. Protecting the near-term climate is central to  significantly cutting the risk of “amplified global climate change” linked with rapid and extensive loss of Arctic ice on both the land and at sea.  Fast action might also reduce losses of mountain glaciers linked in part with black carbon deposits while reducing projected warming in the Arctic over the coming decades by two thirds. The scientists behind the assessment, coordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), also point to numerous public health and food security opportunities above and beyond those linked with tackling climate change.
  More: Integrated Assessment of Black Carbon and Tropospheric Ozone, Video of press conference
• 13 Jun 2011
  Media Advisory: United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative’s Principles for Sustainable Insurance Consultation Meeting for North AmericaAfter two ground-breaking consultation meetings in the Southern Hemisphere, Canada will host from 12 to 13 June 2011 the third of seven United Nations-convened regional consultations that make up a global process to develop a set of sustainability principles for the insurance industry. Once fully fleshed out, the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative’s Principles for Sustainable Insurance (UNEP FI-PSI) will serve as the global framework for insurance companies to better manage environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities in their core business strategies and operations.
• 8 Jun 2011
  New Partnerships Needed to Ensure Future of Marine Environments: On World Oceans Day, UNEP Launches Guide to Ecosystem-based Management Nairobi - Declines in marine and coastal ecosystems due to human activities such as overfishing and pollution could be reversed if organisations, communities and other stakeholders adopt a more integrated approach to managing coastal environments. Closer partnerships between different marine users - such as fishing communities, the tourism industry and conservationists - can also help coastal communities become better prepared for natural disasters and the impacts of global warming, such ocean acidification and changes in sea levels.
• 6 Jun 2011
  Bayer and United Nations Announce Winners of International Children's Painting Competition on World Environment Day Toronto – In honor of World Environment Day (WED) 2011, Bayer once again joined the United Nations Environment Programme’s Regional Office for North America (UNEP RONA) today to sponsor a series of youth environmental education programs.The programs were held at Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto, this year’s North American World Environment Day host city. The events dovetailed with the WED theme, “Forests: Nature at Your Service.” They featured an exhibition of UNEP’s 20th annual International Children’s Painting Competition (ICPC), an ICPC awards ceremony and a student workshop led by astronauts Dr. Mae C. Jemison and Dr. Roberta Bondar.
  More: Winning paintings, Finalist paintings, Exhibited paintings, World Environment Day photos
• 5 Jun 2011
  WED 2011 Spotlights Enormous Economic and Human Benefits from Boosting Funding for Forests Investing Just 0.034 Percent More of Global GDP Could Halve Deforestation, Generate Millions of Jobs and Combat Climate Change
  Delhi/Nairobi/World – Investing an additional US$40 billion a year in the forestry sector could halve deforestation rates by 2030, increase rates of tree planting by around 140 per cent by 2050, and catalyze the creation of millions of new jobs according to a report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
  More: Press release in French, Forests in a Green Economy: Synthesis Report
• 3 Jun 2011
  United Nations World Environment Day Celebrations Culminate in Toronto with Launch of Global and Canadian Reports on Forests and BiodiversityWashington, D.C./Toronto, Ontario — The North American celebrations of World Environment Day (WED) will culminate in Toronto, Ontario at a press conference on Monday, 6 June with the launch of a United Nations report on forests and a report on Canada’s biodiversity by the country’s leading green economy think tank, as well as an award presentation ceremony honoring the winners of the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) International Children’s Painting Competition. UNEP, the UN’s leading authority on the environment, will launch a global report entitled Forests in a Green Economy, which provides an evidence-based roadmap that outlines why ecosystems must be managed properly if we are to successfully build a low-carbon, resource-efficient future.  
• 31 May 2011
  Countdown begins to World Environment Day on 5 June 2011 From Bangalore to Bangkok, events across the world will celebrate value of forests Nairobi – Whether through a litter clean-up around Mount Everest, an international forest conference in Costa Rica or a music festival in Belgium, millions of people across the world will join forces to mark World Environment Day (WED) on 5 June 2011.   This year’s WED theme is ‘Forests: Nature at Your Service’, which highlights the crucial environmental, economic and social roles played by the world’s forests.
• 27 May 2011
  20-year-old wins World Environment Day blog competitionThe Independent; Earlier this week the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) announced that it has chosen a winner for its World Environment Day (WED) blogging competition, 20-year-old Florida native Ximena Pruge.  Bloggers from around the world were encouraged by UNEP to write an inspirational or compelling blog post on the subject o this year's theme for World Environment Day - Forests - Nature at Your Service. The winning entrant is to go to India, host of this year's World Environment Day (WED), to cover events there.  http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/20yearold-wins-world-environment-day-blog-competition-ndash-read-online-2289852.html
• 26 May 2011
  Tunza International Children & Youth Conference on the Environment organized by the United Nations Environment Programme in cooperation with the Government of Indonesia The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in collaboration with the Government of Indonesia will be organizing its Tunza International Children & Youth Conference on the Environment, from 26 to 30 September 2011. It will bring
  together 1400 children and youth, to discuss their role and inputs to the upcoming United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development "Rio+20". Under the slogan 'Reshaping Our future through A Green Economy and Sustainable Lifestyle'.
• 26 May 2011
  Dramatically Raising Low Metal Recycling Rates Part of Path To Green Economy: UNEP Less than one-third of 60 metals studied have end-of-life recycling rate above 50%; 34 are under 1%
  Among recommendations: Boost waste management in developing economies; End hoarding of old phones, other electronic products
  London/Brussels—Smarter product designs, support for developing country waste management schemes, and encouraging developed country households not to ‘squirrel away’ old electronic goods in drawers and closets could help boost recycling of metals world-wide. According to a report released today by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), recycling rates of metals are in many cases far lower than their potential for re-use. Less than one-third of some 60 metals studied have an end-of-life recycling rate above 50 per cent and 34 elements are below 1 per cent recycling, yet many of them are crucial to clean technologies such as batteries for hybrid cars to the magnets in wind turbines, says the study.
• 22 May 2011
  The Secretary-General's Message for the International Day for BiodiversityThis year’s observance of the International Day for Biodiversity falls during the 2011 International Year of Forests, declared by the United Nations General Assembly to educate the global community about the value of forests and the extreme social, economic and environmental costs of losing them.  
  More: French version, UNEP Executive Director's message
• 19 May 2011
  Former UK Premier Gordon Brown to speak on financial stability at United Nations gathering in Washington D.C. Geneva – Former UK Prime Minister and current Member of Parliament Gordon Brown will address global financial leaders during a United Nations meeting on financial stability and sustainability to take place in Washington D.C. this fall. Mr Brown, widely respected as the global leader who rallied the world’s financial policymakers to respond collectively and with a sense of unified urgency to the financial crisis of September 2008, will speak on financial stability, systemic risk and sustainability.
• 18 May 2011
  Green Star Awards honour Environmental Heroes working in Disasters and other Emergencies Bern (Switzerland) – A not-for-profit organization tackling life-threatening pollution in developing countries and a renowned academic working to make houses safer during earthquakes are among the recipients of this year’s Green Star Awards (GSAs), announced by the United Nations and Green Cross International today.
• 13 May 2011
  Secretary-General Appoints Amina Mohamed of Kenya as Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme New York/Nairobi, 13 May 2011 United Nations Secretary-General BAN Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Amina Mohamed, a Kenyan national, as Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
  
  Ms. Mohamed will succeed Angela Cropper of Trinidad and Tobago, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her outstanding contribution and exceptional service to UNEP in the Deputy Executive Director post.
• 12 May 2011
  Humanity Can and Must Do More with Less: UNEP “Decouple” rate of resource consumption from economic growth rate, experts warn 12 May 2011 - New York/Nairobi – By 2050, humanity could devour an estimated 140 billion tons of minerals, ores, fossil fuels and biomass per year – three times its current appetite – unless the economic growth rate is “decoupled” from the rate of natural resource consumption, warns a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme. Developed countries citizens consume an average of 16 tons of those four key resources per capita (ranging up to 40 or more tons per person in some developed countries). By comparison, the average person in India today consumes four tons per year.
  More: Press release in French
  
• 12 May 2011
  No place to land: Loss of natural habitats threatens migratory birds globally Observed in over 50 countries on 14-15 May, World Migratory Bird Day 2011 looks at “Land use changes from a bird’s-eye view” Bonn/Nairobi 12 May 2011 – On their epic journeys, often spanning thousands of kilometres, migratory birds cross many borders, linking different countries as well as ecosystems. The annual migration of an estimated 50 billion birds representing around 19 per cent of the world's 10,000 bird species is one of nature's great natural wonders. Yet each year, more and more of the natural habitats migratory birds need to complete their journeys either diminish or disappear completely. The theme for World Migratory Bird Day 2011, celebrated around the world on 14-15 May, is ' Land use changes from a bird’s-eye view ' and it highlights the negative effects human activities are having on migratory birds, their habitats and the planet’s natural environment.
  More: World Migratory Bird Life statement
• 10 May 2011
  Are you Team Gisele or Team Don?
  Register an Activity, Pick your Team and let the WED Challenge begin! It’s not every day you see an international supermodel squaring up to a Hollywood actor. But as the countdown to World Environment Day (WED) on June 5th begins, Gisele Bündchen and Don Cheadle are taking off the gloves to do battle. The UNEP Goodwill Ambassadors are facing off for the ultimate WED Challenge – and they’re hungry for votes.
  
  World Environment Day is all about positive action for the environment and underscores how the power of our individual actions, when combined, is exponential. In the run-up to WED, individuals, groups, families and schools – even entire communities - can post details of their planned green events online at http://www.wedchallenge.org
  
  The WED Challenge video can be downloaded here: http://www.vimeo.com/23525041
  More: Ian Somerhalder from Vampire Diaries takes up the WED challenge
• 10 May 2011
  UN Announces Winners of Flagship Environment Award: Mexican President Felipe Calderon, Music Legend Angélique Kidjo and Adventurer Louis Palmer among Recipients New York / Nairobi – Mexican President Felipe Calderon, global music legend Angélique Kidjo and adventurer Louis Palmer are among the five winners of the 2011 Champions of the Earth awards, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) announced on Tuesday. They received their awards at a ceremony hosted by UNEP Goodwill Ambassador, Gisele Bündchen, at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, along with fellow laureates green entrepreneur Zhang Yue and scientist and campaigner Dr. Olga Speranskaya.
• 10 May 2011
  Invitation to Press Conference & Media Event: UN Announces Premier Global Environmental Awards at the American Museum of Natural History, New York, 10 May 2011 President Calderon of Mexico and UNEP Director Steiner among speakers and Supermodel Gisele Bündchen and Oscar Nominee Don Cheadle to Host Awards Ceremony Following Policy Debate on Green Economy
  
  What do a head of state, adventurer, chemicals campaigner, green entrepreneur and a world-famous performer have in common? All five are among the winners of the UN Environment Programme’s Champions of the Earth award and will be honoured at a major ceremony in New York on 10 May 2011. 
• 5 May 2011
  Biodiversity awareness keeps rising among consumers and business Paris/Montreal - Biodiversity awareness has risen again among consumers and business, according to the latest edition of the Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT) Biodiversity Barometer launched in Paris today. When asked if they had heard about biodiversity, an average of 65% of the people interviewed in the USA, France, Germany and the UK said they had heard about biodiversity in February 2011, up from 56% in February 2009. In the same period, 27% of the world’s top 100 beauty companies mentioned biodiversity in their reporting, up from 13% in 2009. When measured in seven countries (Brazil, South Korea, Japan, USA, France, UK and Germany) the average biodiversity awareness is 70%. Yet, the UEBT Biodiversity Barometer shows that large differences exist between countries, with particularly high awareness rates in France (98%), Brazil (93%), and South Korea (78%).
• 3 May 2011
  Toronto Selected by the United Nations as Host City for North American World Environment Day 2011 Toronto/Washington D.C., May 3, 2011 – The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has named Toronto the host city for World Environment Day (WED) 2011 in North America. In support of the United Nations International Year of Forests, the theme for this year’s WED is Forests: Nature at Your Service. The two-day celebration will include the launch of a United Nations report on forests, youth events and a consultation with leaders in the environmental community on the 20th anniversary of the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Joining UNEP as a partner in the WED celebrations is Evergreen Brick Works, a LEED Platinum national education center for exploring urban sustainability. While the main events will take place on June 6 and 7 in Toronto, Evergreen and UNEP’s Regional Office for North America are working together to stimulate environmental awareness and action and to promote WED throughout Canada.
• 3 May 2011
  Pioneering Head of State, African Music Legend and Modern-day Jules Verne Set to Receive UN’s Flagship Environmental Award Ceremony to follow High-level Debate on Green Economy: UNEP Goodwill Ambassadors Gisele Bündchen and Don Cheadle to Host Awards Ceremony in New York What do a head of state, adventurer, chemicals campaigner, green entrepreneur and a world-famous performer have in common? All five are among the winners of the UN Environment Programme’s Champions of the Earth award and will be honoured at a major ceremony in New York on Tuesday, 10 May 2011.
• 18 Apr 2011
  Philippe Cousteau’s EarthEcho International and the United Nations Environment Programme Join Forces to Engage Youth this Spring in The Bridging the Gap Challenge
  Joint Campaign Aims to Promote Environmental Awareness and Action Between Earth Day and World Environment Day
  Washington, DC - Philippe Cousteau’s environmental education nonprofit organization EarthEcho International and the United Nations Environment Programme Regional Office for North America Office (UNEP RONA) today announced a special campaign to encourage and help middle and high school students to take action to protect the planet between Earth Day, April 22nd and World Environment Day on June 5th. Inspired by UNEP RONA’s Bridging the Gap initiative, which mobilizes and extends the energy of Earth Day to lead the way to the United Nations World Environment Day, the campaign features EarthEcho’s Water Planet Challenge, an unprecedented call to action that helps youth and educators create service-learning projects in their own communities.
  
  To join the initiative, visit: www.earthecho.org/programs-bridging_the_gap.html
• 15 Apr 2011
  UNEP applauds innovative entrepreneurs accelerating transition to a Green Economy
  SEED Initiative survey confirms local enterprises matter for reaching sustainable development 
  Pretoria, South Africa, 15 April 2011 – Nearly 200 participants of a Green Economy symposium organized by the SEED Initiative, which is hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), met today with the 30 global winners of the SEED Awards to look at ways to accelerate the transition to a Green Economy in the developing world. The Symposium focused on policies needed to accelerate the transition to a Green Economy and on the environmental and social contribution of community-level entrepreneurs in developing countries. The SEED Awards recognize inspiring social and environmental entrepreneurs whose businesses can help meet sustainable development challenges, boost local economies and alleviate poverty. By helping entrepreneurs to scale-up their activities, SEED aims to refocus policies towards promoting Green Economic initiatives such as renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, water and waste management, eco-friendly tourism and green construction and transport.
• 7 Apr 2011
  Momentum gained for the early entry into force of the Nagoya Protocol on Genetic Resources Montreal – Ecuador and the Central African Republic became the latest countries to sign the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization. Ecuador signed on 1 April 2011 and the Central African Republic signed on 6 April 2011. These latest signatures follow the signing of the Protocol by Colombia, Yemen, Algeria, Brazil, Mexico and Rwanda. The Nagoya Protocol, a landmark treaty that links conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity with development, was agreed by the 193 Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity at the Aichi-Nagoya Biodiversity Summit in October 2010. It was opened for signature on 2 February 2011 in New York.
• 1 Apr 2011
  Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Welcomes New Report on Efforts to Green the UN Report calculates UN’s total CO₂ emissions and highlights successful efforts in reducing organisation’s carbon footprint
  
  Nairobi, 1 April 2011– The United Nations has released details of its greenhouse gas emissions for 52 institutions, covering 200,000 employees, in a new report published as part of ongoing efforts to reduce the organisation‟s carbon footprint. The report, co-ordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), calculates the UN‟s total greenhouse gas emissions for 2009 at 1.7 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent, or 8.3 tonnes per capita. Over 50 percent of UN‟s emissions are from air travel (4.1 tonnes per capita) making this the biggest challenge for the organisation in reducing its overall carbon footprint. Around 37 percent of emissions are from buildings and 13 percent are from vehicles.
• 31 Mar 2011
  Pittsburgh World Environment Day 2011 kicks off with a World Record-Setting Announcement Venture Outdoors Offers Customized Memorabilia from “Paddle at the Point,” the Largest Canoe and Kayak Flotilla Ever Assembled (PITTSBURGH, PA) - It’s official. As part of its ramp up efforts for World Environment Day (WED) 2011, the Pittsburgh World Environment Day Partnership is pleased to announce that on last year's WED on June 5, 2010, this region broke the world record for largest raft of canoes and kayaks! Guinness World Records recently notified Venture Outdoors of the accomplishment, staged as a key Pittsburgh World Environment Day Partnership event.
• 25 Mar 2011
  New International Co-operation to Tackle Marine Debris: Honolulu Commitment among outcomes of Fifth International Marine Debris Conference in Hawaii Honolulu (USA) / Nairobi – Government representatives, major industries and leading marine researchers have come together to make a new set of commitments to tackle the widespread problem of debris in the world’s seas and oceans. Despite decades of efforts to prevent and reduce marine debris, such as discarded plastic, abandoned fishing nets and industrial waste, there is evidence that the problem continues to grow. A lack of co-ordination between global and regional programmes, deficiencies in the enforcement of existing regulations and unsustainable consumption and production patterns have aggravated the problem.
  More: Honolulu Commitment, Photos
• 18 Mar 2011
  The Fifth International Marine Debris Conference starts Sunday, 20 March The Fifth International Marine Debris Conference will take place March 20-25, 2011, in Honolulu, Hawai'i. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the United Nations Environment Programme are co-organizers of the conference, which will bring together international marine debris researchers, natural resource managers, policy makers, industry representatives, and the nongovernmental community. This conference will highlight research advances, allow sharing of strategies and best practices to assess, reduce, and prevent the impacts of marine debris, and provide an opportunity for the development of specific bilateral or multi-country strategies.
  
  
• 11 Mar 2011
  UNEP Executive Director presents Green Economy Report to a full house in Washington, D.C. Panel discussion on “Growing Green in a Crowded, Carbon-Constrained World”
  
  On Wednesday, 9 March 2011, more than 250 people from academia, the private sector, the NGO community, and multilateral organizations, came together at Johns Hopkins Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) to hear Achim Steiner speak about UNEP’s newly released landmark report on the Green Economy. Joining Steiner on the panel, which was organized in collaboration with the United Nations Foundation (UNF), were Kate Gordon, Vice President for Energy Policy from the Center for American Progress and Richenda Van Leeuwen, UNF’s Senior Director of Energy Access.
• 10 Mar 2011
  Bees Under BombardmentFrom Chemicals to Air Pollution, New UNEP Report Points to Multiple Factors Behind Pollinator Losses
  
  Geneva/Nairobi - More than a dozen factors, ranging from declines in flowering plants and the use of memory-damaging insecticides to the world-wide spread of pests and air pollution, may be behind the emerging decline of bee colonies across many parts of the globe.
• 7 Mar 2011
  JHU SAIS, UNEP and UNF to Host Panel Discussion on Green EconomyThe United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in cooperation with Johns Hopkins Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) Energy, Resources and Environment Program and the United Nations Foundation (UNF) will hold the panel discussion, “Growing Green in a Crowded, Carbon-Constrained World” on Wednesday, March 9 from 12.30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Achim Steiner, Executive Director of UNEP, along with an esteemed panel of experts will underline the sustainable development, poverty alleviation and environmental benefits of investing strategically in the global transition toward a green economy. The focal point of the discussion will be UNEP's newly released landmark report Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication.
• 4 Mar 2011
  Get onboard for World Environment Day 2011! Forest: Nature at Your Service: In Support of the International Year of ForestCommemorated every year on 5 June, since 1972, WED is a principal vehicle through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment. WED 2011, in support of the UN International Year of Forests (IYF), is aimed to be the biggest and most widely celebrated global day for positive action for the environment. We count on you to make this happen! This year's theme - Forests: Nature at Your Service - underscores the variety of life-sustaining services that forests provide and calls us all to take action to protect these resources and move towards a green economy. The global host country for 2011 is India, a country in which forests constitute more than 20 percent of geographical land mass. Read about the measures the country is taking to combat land-degradation and conserve critical forest ecosystems on www.unep.org/wed/hostcountry
• 24 Feb 2011
  Green Economy and Environmental Governance reform backed by world's environment ministersNairobi - A major sustainable development conference in Brazil next year offers a key opportunity to accelerate and to scale-up a global transition to a low-carbon, resource-efficient Green Economy, a meeting of the world's environment ministers has signaled. Potential challenges, including new kinds of trade barriers, need to be managed. But a Green Economy offers a way of realizing sustainable development in the 21st century by "building economies, enhancing social equity and human well-being, while reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities".
  More: Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum website
• 21 Feb 2011
  How Two Per Cent of Global GDP can Trigger Greener, Smarter Growth While Fighting Poverty New UNEP Report Underlines Sustainable Public Policy and Investment Path on the Road to Rio+20
  Nairobi/World, 21 February 2011—Investing two per cent of global GDP into ten key sectors can kick-start a transition towards a low carbon, resource efficient Green Economy a new report launched today says. The sum, currently amounting to an average of around $1.3 trillion a year and backed by forward-looking national and international policies, would grow the global economy at around the same rate if not higher than those forecast, under current economic models.
  More: Press Release in French, Summary of Conclusions, Summary of Conclusions in French, Synthesis Report, UNEP's Green Economy webpage
• 18 Feb 2011
  New Green Economy Report to be Launched in Nairobi Monday 21 February: Live Webcast & Dial-in for Journalists A New Blueprint for Green Growth: How Investing Two Percent of Global GDP Can Strengthen Economies and Fight Poverty
  The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) will release the Green Economy Report on 21 February at its annual gathering of the world’s environment ministers. The ground-breaking study outlines the public policy choices, urgent actions and investments needed to a global ‘Green Economy’ – one that is low-carbon, resource-efficient and socially-inclusive.
  The report challenges the myth that adopting a Green Economy approach means an inevitable trade-off between environmental sustainability and economic growth. It demonstrates, for example, that investing 2 percent of global GDP across ten key sectors will trigger a new engine of economic growth and provide a net generator of decent jobs. Greater investment in a Green Economy model is also vital for eradicating extreme poverty.
  More: Green Economy webpage
• 17 Feb 2011
  Wider Impacts of Fertilizer and Plastic Pollution on Oceans Top This Year’s Priority Issues in UNEP Year Book UNEP Year Book 2011 Spotlights Urgent Need for Fundamental Green Economy Shift
  Nairobi – Massive amounts of phosphorus—a valuable fertilizer needed to feed a growing global population—are being lost to the oceans as result of inefficiencies in farming and a failure to recycle wastewater. Phosphorus pollution, along with other uncontrolled discharges, such as nitrogen and sewage, are linked with a rise in algal blooms which in turn harm water quality, poison fish stocks and undermine coastal tourism. In the United States alone, the costs are estimated to be running at over US$2 billion a year, indicating that globally and annually the damage may run into the tens of billion of dollars. The UNEP Year Book 2011 has highlighted phosphorus, demand for which has rocketed during the 20th century, in part because of the heated debate over whether or not finite reserves of phosphate rock will soon run out.
• 15 Feb 2011
  Media accreditation open for UNEP Governing Council and Global Ministerial Environment Forum Government ministers from over 100 countries, civil society representatives and high-profile figures from finance to environment will meet in Nairobi from 21- 24 February 2011 for the 26th UNEP Governing Council / Global Ministerial Environment Forum.
• 2 Feb 2011
  International Year of Forests (IYF) - "Celebrating Forests for People" Statement by Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director
  2011 is the International Year of Forests (IYF) and celebrations will officially be launched today during the 9th Session of the United Nations Forum on Forests in New York. This Year, which comes in the wake of the International Year of Biodiversity, represents an opportunity for evolving our work on sustainable forestry to a higher plain. Forests are an issue with essential links to livelihoods, addressing climate change and other environmental challenges; the UN's Millennium Development Goals and sustainable development as a whole.
• 1 Feb 2011
  Ban calls for a Green Economy to ensure sustainable developmentUN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for "revolutionary action" to achieve sustainable development, warning that the past century's heedless consumption of resources is "a global suicide pact" with time running out to ensure an economic model for survival.  "Let me highlight the one resource that is scarcest of all: Time," he told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in a session devoted to redefining sustainable development. "We are running out of time. Time to tackle climate change. Time to ensure sustainable, climate-resilient green growth. Time to generate a clean energy revolution."
• 21 Jan 2011
  Sustainable Tourism Gets Boost With Launch of Global PartnershipCosta Rica - The push for sustainable tourism was given a boost this week with the establishment of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Tourism that unites all stakeholders in the industry in influencing policies, developing projects and providing a global communication platform. The new Partnership was established at the first annual General Meeting in Costa Rica, hosted by the Costa Rican Ministry of Tourism and supported by the French and Norwegian Governments, together with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
  More: French version
• 21 Jan 2011
  From tequila to the 'tree of life', bats are nature's invaluable allies

  Bonn - Were you aware that bats are key pollinators in many parts of the world? Pollination is a vital ecosystem service without which many of our key industries such as agriculture and pharmaceuticals would collapse or incur heavy costs for artificial substitution. TEEB has found that in some estimates, over 75% of the worlds crop plants, as well as many plants that are source species for pharmaceuticals, rely on pollination by animal vectors.
• 5 Jan 2011
  Major Environmental Recovery Programme Marks New Year in Haiti Clean Energy, Tourism and Sustainable Agriculture Among Opportunities Under New Côte Sud Initiative
  Port-au-Prince/Nairobi – An ambitious environmental recovery and sustainable development initiative for southwest Haiti was launched yesterday in Port-Salut by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and a consortium of partners including the Government of Haiti, the Government of Norway, Catholic Relief services, the Earth Institute at Columbia University and a host of local non-governmental organizations.  
• 3 Jan 2011
  UNEP RONA launches new webpage on Sustainable Consumption and ProductionWashington, D.C. – The United Nations Environment Programme’s Regional Office for North America (UNEP RONA) is pleased to announce the launch of a new webpage that focuses on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) in the North American Region.  We invite you to visit this page at the following link: http://www.rona.unep.org/about_unep_rona/scp/index.html. Sustainable consumption and production is about providing goods and services to meet basic needs of the world without compromising the already burdened environment.   SCP aims to do “more and better with less,” by reducing resource use, degradation and pollution along the life cycle of goods and services, while increasing quality of life.