The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released its 2013Annual Report in June.
The report covers the first year in which UNEP held its Governing Council under universal membership and saw an increase in its regular budget, as was agreed by governments at Rio+20 in June 2012. In his introduction, Ban Ki-Moon outlines that these changes send a clear message that “international environmental governance is a priority and UNEP needs adequate resources to fulfil its mandate.”
The report looks at some of the key achievements made by UNEP during 2013, including:
- Ratification by 94 countries of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, which pledges to reduce the toxic emissions on metal. The convention is the first new multilateral environmental agreement in almost a decade.
- Opening of the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), which aims to reduce emissions and improve climate resilience in developing nations by accelerating the transfer of environmentally sound technologies that can improve the lives and livelihoods of millions of people in developing countries.
- Launching ‘GEO-5 for Business: Impacts of a changing environment on the corporate sector’—a report that makes the business case for companies to factor the costs and opportunities of environmental changes into new and existing strategies.
- Securing financial pledges and adopting a rulebook for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (UN-REDD), which promotes the sustainable management of forests and the enhancement of forest carbon stock.
Click here to read UNEP’s full Annual Report 2013.