Preventing, controlling and managing pollution is central to improving health, human well-being and prosperity for all.
UNEP drives capacity and leadership in sound management of chemicals and waste while working to improve ways to reduce waste through circularity and pollutants released to the air, water, soil and the ocean.
This webinar will bring together experts, practitioners, and policymakers to explore how harmonized wastewater and environmental surveillance (WES) systems can strengthen public health and ecosystem protection across Africa. Learn more and join
The Cartagena Convention for the protection of the Wider Caribbean Region exemplifies the potential of regional governance to address a complex, multifaceted challenge such as ocean pollution. Anchored in law yet flexible in practice, it has evolved from oil-spill response to a comprehensive framework that integrates pollution, biodiversity and livelihoods. Read more in this case study.
Last week in Geneva, the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury (COP-6) adopted 22 decisions to advance implementation, cooperation, and protect human health and the environment from mercury pollution.
Bringing together over 1,000 participants in person and nearly 4,000 online viewers, Parties agreed to phase-out dental amalgam by 2034, strengthen action on mercury-added skin-lightening products, enhance efforts on artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM), and reinforce cooperation on mercury supply, trade and waste, among other key decisions.
Relive the highlights of the meeting, read the final press release, watch the press conference, explore our live blog featuring special events and knowledge labs, view our Flickr photo albums, and read the IISD-ENB coverage.
🚫Mercury in skin-lightening products poses serious threats to health, the environment, and human rights, yet harmful beauty norms continue to drive their use.
UNEP held an event to inspire solutions to reduce demand for this toxic metals and skin lightening products at #MinamataCOP6.
Speakers along with the audience shared inspiring insights and solutions:
💡 Public education and awareness
⚖️ Policy and regulatory action
🌱 Ethical and inclusive beauty practices
#MercuryFreeCosmetics #MakeMercuryHistory
Registration is now open for the 5th Annual Global Media Forum on #AntimicrobialResistance, ahead of World #AMR Awareness Week.
More than 1,000 participants from governments, intergovernmental organizations, UN bodies, civil society, Indigenous Peoples, and youth are gathering this week at the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury (COP-6), taking place from 3 to 7 November 2025 at the International Conference Centre Geneva (CICG).
COP-6 will consider measures to curb the illegal trade of mercury and strengthen control of its supply and compounds; review progress on artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM), which remains the largest source of global mercury emissions, and assess the enforcement of the ban on mercury-added skin-lightening products.
All plenary sessions, including the opening and closing ceremonies, are being live streamed on the Convention’s website in the six official UN languages.
Experts agree that preventing pollution is far more beneficial than dealing with the costs of addressing its effects, which often times are invisible. Find out the four ways in which addressing chemicals, waste and pollution can provide multiple gains.
Cada dólar gastado en la restauración de bosques degradados puede resultar en US$ 30 en beneficios económicos.
