Content tagged with UNEP

The UN’s green economy activities are being developed in a way that supports the sustainable development aspirations of developing countries and balances the three pillars of sustainable development (economic, social and environmental).

The UN system has the broad operational reach and vast network of regional, national and sub-national offices to deliver capacity development services at such scope and scale.

Facing such an acute economic downturn, there is a real risk that governments, business and other economic actors and multilateral agencies sacrifice their commitment to fight climate change and environmental degradation for economic survival and funding more immediate priori ties.

Technology transfer and development activities by the UN system promote the diffusion and uptake of environmentallyfriendly and climate-friendly technologies and practices towards achieving objectives of mitigation and adaptation at the country level.

At the 13th session of the Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC in Bali, Indonesia, we met to initiate an ambitious new phase of international cooperation on climate change in the light of compelling scientific evidence. At that time, I spoke of climate change as the “defining challenge of our time”.

The Environmental Data Explorer is the authoritative source for data sets used by UNEP and its partners in the Global Environment Outlook (GEO) report and other integrated environment assessments. Its online database holds more than 500 different variables, as national, subregional, regional and global statistics or as geospatial data sets (maps), covering themes like Freshwater, Population, Forests, Emissions, Climate, Disasters, Health and GDP. Display them on-the-fly as maps, graphs, data tables or download the data in different formats.

The UNEP-led Green Economy Initiative, launched in late 2008, consists of several components whose collective overall objective is to provide the analysis and policy support for investing in green sectors and in greening environmental unfriendly sectors.

Within UNEP, the Green Economy Initiative includes three sets of activities:

The Executive Committee on Economic and Social Affairs (ECESA) is chaired by the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs. Its membership comprises DESA, the regional commissions, UNCTAD, UNEP, UN-Habitat, UNODC, OHCHR, UNDP, OHRLLS and OSAA and also includes UNU and the research/training institutes INSTRAW, UNRISD, and UNITAR.

The fourth report in the Global Environment Outlook (GEO) series from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) provides a comprehensive, scientifically credible, policy-relevant and up-to-date assessment of, and outlook for, the state of the global environment. GEO-4 is published 20 years after the landmark World Commission on Sustainable Developments Bruntland Report of 1987.

Warming of the climate system is beyond argument, as shown by observations of increases in average air and ocean temperatures, the widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global sea levels. But as the messages from scientists become increasingly explicit, the gap between the need for action they project and the climate policy the world leaders put in place remains. The purpose of this guide is to increase public understanding about the urgency of action to combat climate change and its impacts.

"Addiction is a terrible thing. It consumes and controls us, makes us deny important truths and blinds us to the consequences of our actions. Our society is in the grip of a dangerous greenhouse gas habit. The message of this book is that we are all part of the solution. Whether you are an individual, a business, an organization or a government, there are many steps you can take to reduce your climate footprint."

This report presents the initial action undertaken by UNEP immediately following the cessation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip in January 2009,and summarizes the scientific findings of the complex assessment process carried out by UNEP at the request of its Governing Council during the spring and early summer of 2009.Concrete recommendations are provided for the remediation of environmental damage caused by the recent escalation of hostilities, as well as for longer-term improvement of the environmental situation in the Gaza Strip.

UNEP’s Climate Change Strategy is the result of a comprehensive process involving external experts and UNEP staff from across the organization. The strategy is built on the analysis of UNEP’s political mandate, the existing portfolio of climate change activities and the areas of distinctiveness. The Climate Change Strategy provides the foundation for transforming the organization’s engagement on climate change and for developing a results-oriented programme of work.

This chart shows all agencies' expenditure for each region.

United Nations organizations vary widely in size based on annual revenues.  The largest organizations have revenues totaling in the Billions of USD while the smallest are in the range of 20 – 50 Million USD.  The annual revenues for each organization are presented below.

This chart shows agency voluntary contributions (non-specified) revenue from government donors. The graphic is limited to show the top 100 donations.

This chart shows expenditure by category for individual agencies.

This graph shows agency global and inter-regional expenditure.

This chart shows the expenditure of each agency within a country

While United Nations organizations have widely different business models, their annual revenue streams can be grouped into for major categories. These are: Assessed Contributions; Voluntary Contributions, not specified to use; Voluntary Contributions, specified to use; and Other Revenue.

The Inter-Agency Support Group (IASG) on Indigenous Issues was established to support and promote the mandate of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues within the United Nations system.

The UN Inter-Agency Committee for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (IAC) seeks to ensure harmonious international coordination of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) within the UN system, to embed the ESD agenda into the work of UN agencies in a coherent and timely manner, and to emphasize the role of ESD and its implications for all forms, levels and settings of education. It is a forum for open-ended collaboration towards the effective implementation of the Decade.

The United Nations Global Compact Inter-Agency Team is a group of UN entities with a strong interest in: Ensuring coherent support for the internalization of the 10 principles of the UN Global Compact both within the United Nations System and among all Global Compact participants; and encouraging and supporting constructive UN-business relationships in support of UN goals, including the UN Global Compact.

UNEG was established in January 1984 as the Inter-Agency Working Group on Evaluation (IAWG). It is a professional network that brings together the units responsible for evaluation in the UN system including the specialized agencies, funds, programmes and affiliated organisations. UNEG currently has 45 such members.

Formally established in 2008, the Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction (PEDRR) is a global alliance of UN agencies, NGOs and specialist institutes. As a global thematic platform of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), PEDRR seeks to promote and scale-up implementation of ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction and ensure it is mainstreamed in development planning at global, national and local levels, in line with the Hyogo Framework for Action.

The MDG Gap Task Force was created by the Secretary-General of the United Nations following the discussion of the Policy Committee on 1 May 2007 (Decision No. 2007/22) to improve monitoring of the global commitments contained in MDG 8, the Global Partnership for Development.

UN-Oceans   is   an   inter-agency   mechanism   that   seeks   to   enhance   the coordination, coherence and effectiveness of competent organizations of the United Nations system and the International Seabed Authority, within existing resources, in conformity  with  the  United  Nations  Convention  on  the  Law  of  the  Sea,  the respective competences of each of its participating organizations and the mandates and priorities approved by their respective governing bodies.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the leading international body for the assessment of climate change. It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to provide the world with a clear scientific view on the current state of knowledge in climate change and its potential environmental and socio-economic impacts.