UNEP provides environmental leadership on dealing with climate change to the rest of the UN system, international organizations, national governments, civil society and the private sector. It provides guidance and advice to governments on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preparing for the consequences of changed climate, and it helped to develop international agreements on climate change.
UNEP’s work on climate change concentrates on efforts to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, mainly by promoting renewable energy and improved energy efficiency and spurring the development of a carbon market. UNEP has also been active in efforts to reduce the risks of, and improve society’s resilience to, climate change, notably through its support to the development of National Adaptation Programmes of Action, which are national-level plans that address the adverse effects of climate change.
UNEP assisted with the establishment of international climate change agreements and institutions such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which entered into force in 1994, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) established in the 1980s.
The climate change work of UNEP focuses on:
- adaptation
- mitigation
- improving understanding of climate change science
- communicating and raising public awareness
- reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD).
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UNEP helps developing countries to reduce vulnerabilities and build resilience to the impacts of climate change. UNEP builds and strengthens national institutional capacities for vulnerability assessment and adaptation planning, and supports national efforts to integrate climate change adaptation measures into development planning and ecosystem management practices. The work is guided by and contributes to the Nairobi Work Programme on Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation (a programme developed by the UNFCC to help countries understand climate change impacts and adapt to climate change). UNEP also promotes sustainable land-use management and reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation, bridging adaptation and mitigation.
UNEP is working to reduce emission of greenhouse gases through an accelerated shift to lower-carbon and more efficient energy systems. In line with the Bali Strategic Plan for Technology Support and Capacity-building (a framework to help developing countries coherently address their environmental needs, priorities and obligations), UNEP will facilitate technology transfer and financing for renewable energy and energy efficiency in order to provide expanded access to cleaner energy, facilitate the application of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in new sectors and countries, and foster the development of a broader, more inclusive carbon market.
Drawing on its strengths as a science-based organization UNEP is making available better and more relevant scientific information on climate change impacts to developing country decision makers. UNEP is helping to improve the capacity of governments to use this information for policy purposes, as well as providing scientific, legal and institutional support to developing country negotiators and their institutions so that they can meaningfully contribute to a strengthened international regime on climate change.
UNEP works with partners to improve understanding of, and promote action on, various aspects of climate change by targeting policy-makers and negotiators, NGOs, the private sector, media, children, youth and the public.
UNEP, primarily through the UN-REDD programme, is supporting the capacity development, analysis and policy dialogue at country level and international level to find answers to fundamental questions about social and environmental risks and benefits of emerging REDD schemes, and to ensure their environmental integrity.