UNEP's funding is improving. The number of donor countries and the amount of their contribution are increasing and the funding has become more stable and predictable than it was in the 1990s.

Funding sources
Apart from a small contribution from the United Nations Regular Budget, which is less than 4% of the UNEP’s total budget, UNEP depends entirely on voluntary support. The Environment Fund is the main source of funding for UNEP's activities. All Member States of the United Nations, taking into account their economic and social circumstances, should contribute financially to UNEP. The seventh special session of UNEP Governing Council in Cartagena (2002) approved the use of a voluntary indicative scale of contributions to the Environment Fund (VISC) and encouraged all countries to contribute on the basis of VISC or any other basis identified by a Member State. The latest VISC for the biennium 2008-9 was communicated to all Member States in July 2007.

Additional financing of UNEP is provided in the form of earmarked funding for specific UNEP activities, paid through Trust Funds and Earmarked contributions.

A significant earmarked support is received through the Partnership Agreements between UNEP and major donor countries. Such agreements are focused on UNEP programme priorities and aim at making additional support more strategic and predictable.

The non-governmental donors, including the private sector and individuals, play also an important role in providing financial and in-kind support to various UNEP programme initiatives.