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.
🗓️ 9 May
⏰ 13:15–14:45 hrs CEST
This side event at the 2025 BRS COPs will highlight challenges and opportunities of the sound management of pharmaceuticals, considering priority areas for action. It will also explore innovative practices throughout pharmaceutical lifecycle and across key sectors such as pharmaceutical manufacturing, healthcare facilities, agriculture, food production, and municipalities/households, shedding light on the benefits of action as well as existing tools.
The Quadripartite Joint Secretariat on AMR is pleased to invite you to participate in a survey as part of the formal consultation process for updating the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (GAP-AMR).
The current GAP-AMR has played a pivotal role in guiding global efforts to address AMR, with 178 countries developing National Action Plans by 2024. However, significant changes over the past decade in human health, animal health, agrifood, and the environmental sector underscore the need for a more inclusive, multisectoral and One Health approach moving forward.
Your participation in this consultation will directly contribute to shaping and advancing a robust, inclusive, and coordinated multisectoral One Health response to AMR, and support progress toward achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and beyond.
In the lead-up to World Environment Day, the Global Partnership on Plastic Pollution and Marine Litter (GPML) will hold a webinar on 20 May to explore financial solutions for a just transition in the plastics economy, with a focus on the informal waste sector.
The GPML webinar, Financing a Just Transition in the Plastic Value Chain, will highlight key financing mechanisms to bridge financial gaps for informal waste workers. By bringing together policymakers, financial institutions, and waste sector organizations, the webinar aims to identify actionable pathways to integrate informal waste workers into the circular plastics economy.
From 12-13 May 2025, over 50 representatives from Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are gathering in Geneva for the first in-person ISLANDS Forum, aiming to strengthen efforts toward sound chemicals and waste management across these uniquely vulnerable nations.
In the wake of the 2025 Meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (2025 BRS COPs), the two-day forum opens dedicated space for SIDS to showcase emerging solutions and demonstrated strategies for targeted action on chemicals and waste.
The event will be broadcast live on UN Web TV and through the Green Growth Knowledge Partnership (GGKP) YouTube channel.
The Kick-Off Ceremony for the Japan Supplementary Budget 2024–2025 projects took place on Wednesday, 30 April 2025 at the UNEP Headquarters in Nairobi. The event highlighted Japan’s support to UNEP and introduced a new set of funded projects. It also featured remarks by H.E. Matsuura Hiroshi, Ambassador of Japan to Kenya, along with speakers from UNEP and Member States.
More images from the event are available online.
The meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (2025 BRS COPs) kick off today in Geneva. See what UNEP is doing at the meetings.
Delegates from more than 180 countries will gather in Geneva, Switzerland from 28 April to 9 May to discuss restricting several toxic chemicals, including a widely used pesticide and a common stain repellent.
The negotiations will be part of a series of biennial meetings known as Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions (2025 BRS COPs). They come amid mounting concerns that hazardous chemicals are flooding the Earth. Experts say the proliferation of these compounds is one of the most troubling markers of a planet-wide pollution crisis.
On 18 April in Istanbul, Türkiye at the Third Annual Stocktaking Meeting (ASM) of the Mediterranean Sea Programme (MedProgramme) funded by the Global Environment Fund, participants gathered to reflect on achievements, share knowledge, and explore new ways to amplify impact.
One standout session brought together subject matter experts, countries, partners and sectors for guided discussions on emerging topics such as climate change adaptation, source-to-sea management, and the circular economy. Meanwhile, art students captured these conversations in sketches, which were later transformed into an AI-generated movie highlighting common challenges and proposed solutions. This creative approach showcased the power of collective effort, proving that together, we can achieve more and be greater than the sum of our parts.
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are our "Worst Friends Forever" (WFF). POPs are organic chemicals that remain intact in the environment for long periods. They can spread widely through air, water, and soil, accumulate in organisms, and are toxic to both humans and the environment.
Scientists and governments have joined forces under the Stockholm Convention to track these pollutants and protect human health and the environment from their harmful effects.
Have a look at this graphical guide on POPs and how to cut ties with them.
Chile is among the world’s top 10 importers of secondhand clothes—yet over 75% can’t be reused and often ends up dumped or burned. UNEP spoke with Environment Minister Maisa Rojas on tackling textile waste and how policy can help beat waste pollution.
The Policy Podcast is part of the wider initiative ‘Policy action on textiles – A dialogue series facilitated by UNEP’. Alongside UNEA-6, governments called for a global policy dialogue on textiles, facilitated by UNEP. They agreed that the dialogue series should be government-led, inclusive and address various aspects of circularity in textiles.
Cada dólar gastado en la restauración de bosques degradados puede resultar en US$ 30 en beneficios económicos.
