UNEP analysis released ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) brought into sharp focus the scale of the climate crisis and offered policymakers a suite of solutions.

The Emission Gap Report 2023: Broken Record – Temperatures hit new highs, yet world fails to cut emissions (again) showed that current climate pledges put the Earth on track to warm by 2.5-2.9°C this century, well above the goals of the Paris Agreement. To keep warming below 1.5°C, greenhouse gas emissions must fall by 42 per cent by 2030. The Production Gap Report: Phasing down or phasing up? Top fossil fuel producers plan even more extraction despite climate promises found that governments’ plans to produce fossil fuels would obliterate the carbon budget for 1.5°C.

Meanwhile, the Adaptation Gap Report: Underfinanced. Underprepared – Inadequate investment and planning on climate adaptation leaves world exposed, found that the adaptation finance gap was 50 per cent larger than previously thought. Developing countries need between US$215 billion to US$387 billion a year to withstand growing climate impacts.

The UNEP analyses were mentioned by heads of state and negotiators during COP28, while the Adaptation Gap Report was cited in the Global Stocktake, the final COP28 decision that called on countries to transition away from fossil fuels. Over 3,300 articles on these “gap” analyses were published in 75-plus countries.

In 2023, UNEP supported 43 developing countries as they prepared their biennial transparency reports i.e. documents that gauge how well individual nations are living up to their climate commitments. These national report cards were supported by US$32 million in financing from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), one of the largest sums the facility has ever provided for climate reporting.

UNEP helped dozens of countries bolster their reporting in other ways, including by developing systems to manage climate data. Through the UNEP-Copenhagen Climate Centre, UNEP established six regional networks to provide training and technical support on reporting. The transparency reporting process is considered crucial to the Paris Agreement because it informs policymaking and builds trust among nations.

The groundbreaking Methane Alert and Response System tracked major releases of the potent greenhouse gas from oil and gas installations. Developed by UNEP and partners, the first-of-its-kind initiative uses satellite data, machine learning and other cutting-edge techniques. In 2023, it notified companies and governments of over 120 methane plumes across four continents, encouraging action to reduce emissions.

UNEP advised Brazil on the development of energy efficiency standards for commercial refrigerators, an effort that aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 11 million tonnes annually – equivalent to 15 per cent of the emissions from the country’s electricity sector. Meanwhile, UNEP helped 10 cities in Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Kenya and Türkiye develop plans to decarbonize their building sectors.

Five countries – Angola, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Romania and Turkmenistan – joined the Global Methane Pledge in 2023, bringing total participation to 155 nations. UNEP is a core implementer of the pledge, which was prominent at COP28 and aims to cut global methane emissions by 30 per cent by 2030. This is crucial to address near-term climate change and buy time for full decarbonization.

The UNEP-led United for Efficiency initiative supported over 80 countries as they developed energy efficiency standards for lighting, equipment and appliances. By 2040, those interventions could save around 30,000 MW of energy, equivalent to 60 large power plants.

In 2023, an additional 11 parties ratified the Montreal Protocol’s Kigali Amendment, which calls for the phase down of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). Reducing the use of these potent greenhouse gases could avert up to 0.5°C of warming by mid-century. The protocol’s Multilateral Fund was replenished in October 2023 with a record US$965 million for 2024- 2026. More than 60 countries joined the Cooling Pledge, organized by the UNEP-convened Cool Coalition. The agreement aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions linked to the cooling sector by at least 68 per cent globally by 2050.

UNEP and partners organized Africa Climate Week alongside the first Africa Climate Summit, which brought more than 10,000 participants, including 20 heads of state, to Nairobi, Kenya. The gathering emphasized that Africa can drive solutions to the climate crisis. “We aim to weave a single, resounding African voice that will carry the outcomes … to COP28 and beyond,” said Kenyan President William Ruto.

UNEP led the establishment of early warning systems for climate-related disasters in six countries: Cook Islands, Marshall Islands, Niue, Palau, Timor-Leste and Tuvalu. Some of those systems are up and running, including a web-based forecasting system that warned Cook Islanders of coastal flooding during a May storm. UNEP is implementing similar projects in 19 other nations, as part of a broader UN push to ensure early warning systems protect everyone on Earth by 2027.

UNEP also ramped up efforts to help communities adapt to long-term changes in the climate, supporting almost 80 projects. UNEP helped Panama and Uganda develop national adaptation plans, bringing the total number of countries it has supported with this work to 23.

The Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), a UNEP-hosted body, helped developing countries leverage technology to mitigate and adapt to climate change. These interventions are projected to benefit 69 million people and prevent the emission of 21 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent annually – the same as taking 4 million cars off the road. For example, the CTCN supported Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe to develop minimum energy performance standards for refrigerators and transformers.

The UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, a group of institutional investors committed to decarbonizing their portfolios, grew to 87 members by November 2023, from 77 the previous year. The combined greenhouse gas emissions of target-setting members fell 3 per cent in 2022. Alliance members, which have US$9.5 trillion in assets under management, had dedicated over US$380 billion to climate solutions through 2022, the last year for which data is available.

By year end, more than 320 lenders, representing half of the world’s banking assets, had joined the Principles for Responsible Banking. The framework, administered by the UNEP Finance Initiative (UNEP-FI), helps banks align their core business with global environmental deals. Some 71 per cent of signatories have committed to mitigation targets. Many are also financing companies that offer climate solutions. For example, one major lender provided a US$1.2 billion loan to an Indian renewable energy developer building 900 megawatts of wind capacity and 400 megawatts of solar capacity.

UNEP helped to protect, restore and better manage freshwater ecosystems, which are under increasing threat from climate change. In March, UNEP and several partners launched the Freshwater Challenge, which aims to safeguard 300,000km of rivers and 350 million hectares of wetlands around the world. Some 43 nations joined the effort, including many at COP28, an important outcome of the COP28 Water Agenda.

UNEP also began a project, funded by Germany’s International Climate Initiative, to help sustainably manage the Congo River Basin. It is one of several UNEP-led efforts in the area, home to more than 75 million people. As well, UNEP announced it would work with 19 cities around the world to restore urban ecosystems, overwhelmingly rivers, canals and wetlands. UNEP also supported the launch by Kenya of the Nairobi Rivers Commission, which aims to rejuvenate the river basin on which the capital city depends.

Finally, the UNEP report Wastewater: Turning Problem to Solution found that with the right policies, wastewater could provide alternative energy to 500 million people, supply 10 times the water provided by current global desalination capacity and offset over 10 per cent of global fertilizer use.

With support from the GEF, UNEP is leading 24 projects in 21 countries, from Chile to Sri Lanka, to protect and revive a range of landscapes and seascapes. In 2023, that work supported the sustainable management of more than 560,000 hectares of ecosystems, an area roughly the size of Trinidad and Tobago. It also led to the creation of 254,000 hectares of protected areas and the conservation or restoration of 110,000 hectares of forests.

Through the UN-REDD Programme, UNEP helped 17 countries to conserve and restore forests, which are crucial carbon sinks. The programme helped countries become eligible for a combined US$1.5 billion in results-based financing for forest conservation. Those efforts are also expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 100 million tonnes between now and 2026.

The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, led by UNEP and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), showcased 10 pioneering restoration efforts. These Restoration Flagships were featured in 1,500 media stories and generated 70 million views on social media.

The flagships aim to restore by 2030 more than 60 million hectares of land and sea as part of a commitment by countries to restore 1 billion hectares, an area larger than China, by 2030.

UNEP advised Brazil on legislation, signed into law by President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, to promote sustainable urban and peri-urban agriculture. The measure is expected to make healthy food more accessible and preserve biodiversity. It was part of a seven-country project, which ended in 2023, to reduce the environmental impact of food production.

UNEP and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) supported 138 countries as they aligned their national biodiversity policies, targets and monitoring frameworks with the GBF. This is a critical step to the agreement’s success.

In September, UNEP and partners launched the National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans Accelerator Partnership, which provides technical support to accelerate implementation of the GBF. UNEP also trained officials from 50 countries to use a data reporting tool, which helps streamline reporting to biodiversity-related conventions.

In June, UN Member States adopted an agreement that lays the foundation for the conservation and sustainable use of the two-thirds of the ocean beyond national jurisdiction. UNEP provided expert advice as leaders negotiated the deal, which is key to implementing the GBF, particularly its target of protecting 30 per cent of land and sea by 2030.

To mark its 20th anniversary, the UNEP-hosted Carpathian Convention adopted a new framework to protect biodiversity across one of Europe’s longest mountain ranges, a reflection of regional efforts to implement the GBF.

In 2023, UNEP focused on helping financial sector players, including banks and insurers, to embed biodiversity-related considerations into their business practices. This is crucial to mobilizing the capital necessary to make good on the promise of the GBF.

In September, the Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures released a framework outlining how companies can assess and disclose nature-related risks and dependencies. UNEP-FI co-founded the task force and tested a beta version of the standards with 50 financial institutions in 25 countries. The G7 and G20 took official note of the framework, which supports GBF Target 15 calling on businesses to reduce their negative impacts on biodiversity.

UNEP and other UN bodies supported the Government of Indonesia’s National Blue Economy Roadmap 2023-2045. Launched in July, it outlines how the country can sustainably develop its marine resources for economic growth. UNEP’s support fell under the High Impact Initiative on Nature Driving Economic Transformation, part of a broader UN effort to supercharge progress on the SDGs.

Throughout 2023, UNEP helped Member States to counter desertification and other forms of land degradation, which affect more than 3 billion people and are a prime driver of biodiversity loss. UNEP supported countries in implementing their objectives under the UN Convention to Combat Desertification and, in partnership with other organizations, helped countries access funds to address the dual challenges of desertification and climate change adaptation.

A prime example of UNEP’s work is in Africa, where the organization is supporting the Great Green Wall, an 8,000km band of trees and shrubs that is helping to hold back the Sahara Desert. UNEP-backed projects in 11 countries helped to strengthen cooperation around the wall while assessing the scale of land degradation. That was part of a multi-year effort to provide technical support to Great Green Wall countries, and to design and implement projects to reclaim land from the desert.

As well, UNEP provided support to countries in West Asia dealing with sandstorms, which can be a source of conflict and are expected to become more common as climate change and desertification accelerate.

Finally, the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, a partnership between UNEP and FAO, cast a spotlight on the importance of restoring grasslands, popularizing regenerative agriculture and improving soil quality, all key to countering desertification.

In September, the world agreed on the Global Framework on Chemicals, a historic deal to protect people and the environment from chemical pollution, which causes an estimated 2 million deaths every year. The agreement has 28 targets, including a call for action on highly hazardous pesticides and a crackdown on illegal chemicals. UNEP will manage a dedicated trust fund in support of the framework. Germany has committed 20 million euros to the fund, with France, Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland also contributing.

In early 2023, UNEP released the report Bracing for Superbugs. The report’s in-depth look at how environmental degradation is feeding the rise of antimicrobial resistance was covered by media in 70 countries. “We must remain focused on turning the tide in this crisis by raising awareness and by placing this matter of global importance on the agenda of the world’s nations,” said Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, who launched the report alongside UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen.

The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution, hosted by UNEP, released a zero draft of a legally binding global instrument to end plastic pollution. The draft, which covers the full lifecycle of plastic, was reviewed during talks in Nairobi, Kenya late in the year marking a key step towards finalizing the agreement by the end of 2024.

Six new governments signed onto the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, co-led by UNEP and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. They join 55 nations and hundreds of organizations that have collectively reduced their annual consumption of virgin plastics by 3 million tonnes since 2018. This is more than the annual plastic packaging use of France. Governments of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution are committed to ending plastic pollution by 2040.

UNEP’s collaboration with the Mekong River Commission led to the creation of the world’s first transboundary rules for tracking riverine plastic pollution for the Lower Mekong River. An estimated 80 per cent of the nearly 65 million people living in the Lower Mekong River Basin depend on the river and its natural resources for their livelihoods.

In the Caribbean, UNEP led a regional project to prevent plastic-laced fishing nets and traps from being swept away during storms. The effort, a partnership with the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute and the Global Ghost Gear Initiative, spanned nine countries. It included awareness-raising campaigns among fishers and AI-based mapping of pollution hotspots.

UNEP used its influential advocacy tools to focus attention on solutions to plastic pollution. The theme of World Environment Day, June 5, was on plastic pollution. Generously hosted by Côte d’Ivoire, the day was the top-trending hashtag on X (formerly known as Twitter). Related content was seen more than 300 million times across social media. Several governments also made commitments on the day, with Côte d’Ivoire unveiling a new environmental code to fight plastic pollution. The Champions of the Earth, the UN’s highest environmental honour, featured individuals and groups re-inventing humanity’s relationship with plastic. The awards almost doubled their reach on social media from 2022.

UNEP ramped up its efforts to counter air pollution, which which kills 6.7 million people a year and imposes health costs equivalent to more than six per cent of global gross domestic product.

The organization helped Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, where some cities are among the most polluted in Central Asia during the winter heating season, to develop roadmaps to establish modern air quality indexes. The countries of West Asia, with support from UNEP and the World Health Organization, agreed to establish a regional network to improve air quality in the first collaboration of its kind in the region.

The UNEP-convened Climate and Clean Air Coalition helped 50 countries – including Cambodia, Kenya, Pakistan, Nigeria and Thailand – advance national plans to reduce short-lived pollutants, like methane and hydrofluorocarbons, which contribute to climate change and air pollution.

Finally, the UNEP-led International Day of Clean Air for blue skies focused on how countries can counter air pollution. Several celebrities joined the call for cleaner air, with UNEP Goodwill Ambassador Dia Mirza saying: “Breathing should never be a hazard.”

Throughout 2023, UNEP helped countries reduce waste. The Circularity Gap Report found that the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean could take 30 per cent off their material use and carbon footprint by implementing circular economy strategies. The 2050 Electrical and Electronic Waste Outlook in West Asia found that recycling electronics in the region could recover 130 tonnes of gold, 17 million tonnes of iron and steel, and 5,000 tonnes of rare-earth metals by 2050. The report was released on the inaugural International Day of Zero Waste, led by UNEP and UN-Habitat with support from Türkiye.

UNEP, with support from the GEF, led projects around the world to clean up hazardous waste, resulting in the proper disposal of 216 tonnes of electronic waste in Nigeria, 32 tonnes of the pesticide dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) in Ethiopia and 211 tonnes of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in Cameroon.

UNEP helped luxury hotels in Qatar, Saudia Arabia and the United Arab Emirates slash their food waste by 65 per cent during the holy month of Ramadan. The effort was part of Recipe for Change, a region-wide campaign to reduce food waste.

The Minamata Convention on Mercury, hosted by UNEP, celebrated the 10th anniversary of its adoption. Delegates from 147 countries set new dates to phase out mercury-added products, including fluorescent lamps and cosmetics, at the fifth Conference of the Parties. They also reached an agreement on a threshold for mercury waste.

In addition, UNEP helped 33 countries develop national action plans to reduce mercury pollution from small-scale gold mines, a major source of the toxic chemical. Through the GEF-funded effort, 26 nations have submitted plans to the Minamata Convention. The PlanetGold programme, which aims to improve production practices and working conditions in small-scale mines, expanded to 24 countries, with certified mines selling US$42 million worth of gold through the initiative, which is led by UNEP with GEF funding.

UNEP built on a UN Environment Assembly resolution by twice convening a working group that is developing proposals for a science-policy panel on chemicals, waste and pollution prevention. The panel, expected to be established in 2024, will help governments make informed decisions on the sound management of chemicals and waste.

The Conferences of the Parties to the UNEP-hosted Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions adopted a further 54 decisions to reduce hazardous wastes, eliminate persistent organic pollutants and control the trade of toxic chemicals and waste. The Stockholm Convention listed three new persistent organic pollutants for elimination, two of which are plastic additives. The Basel Convention adopted technical guidelines on the environmentally sound management of plastic wastes.