Beating plastic pollution

Reducing plastic pollution of the oceans is a priority issue for UN Environment. In 2018 we helped nations and individuals make huge commitments to giving up single-use plastics.

The UN-REDD Programme celebrates 10 years

The United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (the UN-REDD Programme) was the first joint UN global initiative on climate change.

Financing sustainable development

Our work on financing for sustainable development broke new ground in 2018.

In our work on climate change we focus on:

• Climate resilience, where we support countries to use ecosystem-based and other approaches to adapt to climate change.
• Low-emission growth, where we support countries to increase energy efficiency, access clean energy finance, and reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants by moving to renewable energy.
• REDD+, where we enable countries to capitalize on investments that reduce greenhouse emissions from deforestation and forest degradation with adequate social and environmental safeguards.

For a full summary of results and success indicators from 2018, read the Programme Performance Report.

In our work on disasters and conflicts we focus on:

• Risk reduction, where we improve the capacity of countries to use environmental management to prevent and reduce the risks of natural hazards, industrial disasters and conflict.
• Response and recovery, where we support countries in the aftermath of a disaster or conflict to identify and address environmental risks that could have serious social and economic impacts.

For a full summary of results and success indicators from 2018, read the Programme Performance Report.

In our work on ecosystem management we focus on:

• Creating an enabling environment, where we assist countries in incorporating the value and the long-term functioning of ecosystems in planning and accounting frameworks.
• The productivity of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, where we help countries to use an ecosystem approach to manage terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
• The productivity of marine ecosystems, where we help countries to use an ecosystem approach in marine ecosystem management.

For a full summary of results and success indicators from 2018, read the Programme Performance Report.

In our work on environmental governance we focus on:

• Coherence and synergies, where we help the UN system and multilateral environmental agreements to work together more coherently.
• Stronger laws and institutions, where we support national efforts to develop and enforce laws, and strengthen institutional arrangements for achieving environmental objectives in tandem with social and economic goals.
• Mainstreaming of environment into development planning and decision-making, where we assist countries to integrate environmental sustainability into development planning.

For a full summary of results and success indicators from 2018, read the Programme Performance Report.

In our work on chemicals and waste we focus on:

• Creating an enabling environment, where we support countries to have the policies and institutional capacity to manage chemicals and waste soundly.
• Chemicals, where we help countries and other stakeholders implement sound chemicals management and related multilateral environmental agreements.
• Waste, where we help countries and other stakeholders implement sound waste management and related multilateral environmental agreements.

For a full summary of results and success indicators from 2018, read the Programme Performance Report.

In our work on resource efficiency we focus on:

• An enabling policy environment, where we help countries make the transition to inclusive green economies and to adopt sustainable consumption and production action plans.
• Sustainability in businesses, where we work with governments, businesses and other stakeholders to make global supply chains more sustainable.
• Sustainable lifestyles and consumption, where we empower countries, businesses, civil society and individuals to live and consume responsibly and sustainably.

For a full summary of results and success indicators from 2018, read the Programme Performance Report.

In our work to keep the environment under review we focus on:

• Assessments, where we support global, regional and national policymaking using environmental information accessible on open platforms.
• Early warning, where we provide planning authorities with information on emerging environmental issues of global importance.
• Information management, where we strengthen the capacity of countries to generate, access, analyse, use and communicate environmental information and knowledge.

For a full summary of results and success indicators from 2018, read the Programme Performance Report.

UN Environment and the scientific bodies it hosts provide cutting-edge science that helps policymakers take decisions that protect the environment for the benefit of all.

• Emissions Gap Report 2018
• Adaptation Gap Report 2018
• Inclusive Wealth Report 2018
• International Resource Panel
  • Re-defining Value – The Manufacturing Revolution
  • The Weight of Cities: Resource Requirements of Future Urbanization

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• Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer
• Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals
• Convention on Biological Diversity
• Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
• Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions
• Minamata Convention on Mercury

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India helped to make World Environment Day 2018—under the theme of Beat Plastic Pollution—one the biggest and most impactful in the annual event’s 45-year history...

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UN Environment recognized six of the world’s most outstanding environmental change-makers with a Champions of the Earth Award—the United Nations’ highest environmental honour—on the sidelines of the seventy-third session of the UN General Assembly in September. Weibo, China’s microblogging and social media giant, supports the awards.

See the 2018 Champions of the Earth, as well as the 2018 Young Champions of the Earth

UN Environment's 2018 budget performance

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Meet UN Environment's leadership team.

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