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.
The 2025 meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS COPs), held in Geneva from 28 April to 9 May 2025, was an opportunity for the secretariat of the Minamata Convention on Mercury to build partnerships and promote action to address mercury pollution.
A key outcome of the BRS COPs of relevance to mercury was a Basel Convention COP decision to update the technical guidelines on mercury waste to align them with the thresholds adopted at Minamata COP-5. The COPs also adopted a framework for cooperation between the Minamata and BRS secretariats including an outline of activities planned for 2025 and the 2026-2027 biennium. Under the Rotterdam Convention, the Chemicals Review Committee recommended adding mercury to Annex III to the Convention to require prior informed consent for its international trade, but the COP did not reach a consensus on its addition and this will be further discussed at the next COP in 2027.
As part of the World Environment Day celebration calling for collective action to tackle plastic pollution, the Global Partnership on Plastic Pollution and Marine Litter (GPML) is pleased to host an online pre-launch event on 29 May for the rebranded Digital Platform which will henceforth be known as the Global Plastics Hub, a key digital platform designed to catalyze collective global action towards ending plastic pollution.
The Global Plastics Hub is a one-stop global hub for sharing knowledge and data, guiding countries in evidence-based policymaking, and fostering collaboration among stakeholders.
The world generated an estimated 400 million tonnes of plastic waste in 2024. World Environment Day 2025 will focus on ways to prevent plastic waste from escaping into the environment, such as curbing pollution from single-use plastic products and redesigning plastic products so they last longer.
“Plastic pollution is one of the gravest environmental threats facing the Earth but it’s a problem we can solve,” said Elisa Tonda, Chief of the Resources and Markets Branch of the UN Environment Programme. “Doing so could not only improve the well-being of people and planet but also unlock a host of economic opportunities.”
Explore what plastic pollution is, why it’s such a problem and what can be done about it.
🗓️ 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.
