UNEP strengthened and upgraded in line with Rio+20 commitments

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The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has been modernized into a strengthened and upgraded institution better able to meet the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. The decision, by ministers of the environment meeting at the UNEP Governing Council, which met from 18 to 22 February 2013, implements the call by Heads of States and governments in the Future We Want forged at the close of Rio+20 last June.Governments this week also backed more predictable, stable and increased funding for UNEP from the UN Regular Budget by 2014 -underlining increasing confidence in UNEP's ability and role to deliver the environmental dimension of sustainable development.Ministers meeting for the first time under universal membership of 193 member states- again as a result of the decisions taken and adopted last year at Rio+20 and the UN General Assembly later in the year- adopted a number of other decisions relating to the way UNEP will operate and work as the global platform for environmental policy-making and action over the coming years and decades.Governments called for  the transformation of the existing Governing Council into a UN  Environment Assembly of UNEP and to build stronger links between UNEP's science-based Global Environment Outlook process and its ministerial meetings - further implementing the call  by member states at Rio + 20 to strengthen the science-policy interface.Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, said at the close: "The theme at this historic, universal membership Governing Council was Rio+20: From Outcome to Implementation - and that was precisely what happened over the past five days".Key AnnouncementsThe launching, in conjunction with the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) of a new Green Economy Partnership, which aims to support 30 countries over the next seven years in building national green economy strategies that will generate new jobs and skills, promote clean technologies, and reduce environmental risks and poverty.The launch of the En.lighten initiative, a strategic UNEP partnership with the Global Off-Grid Lighting Association, geared towards facilitating the replacement the millions of kerosene lamps, candles and flashlights used worldwide with modern solar lighting.Mongolia was unveiled as the 2013 host of World Environment Day, to be held June 5. The theme of the day will be Think.Eat.Save, building on the join UNEP - FAO campaign to reduce food waste. Mongolia is currently prioritizing a Green Economy shift in its major sectors such as mining.Also at the event, ministers dined on locally-grown Kenyan food that had been rejected by UK supermarkets for cosmetic reasons.ReportsThe occasion of the Governing Council meeting also saw the release of a number of reports and other publications, including:Endocrine Disrupters report, an assessment of the state of the science of endocrine disruptors prepared by a group of experts for the United Nations Environment Programme and World Health Organization.UNEP Year Book 2013, latest in an annual series that keeps track of major environmental developments and events, as well as highlighting emerging issues in our global environment.GEO-5 for Youth, a report based on the United Nations Environment Programme’s flagship environmental assessment, Global Environment Outlook, written by and for youthUNEP's 2012 Annual ReportUNEP's Annual Programme Performance Report 2012 which analyses the performance of UNEP's projects over the first 12 months of the 2012-2013 Programme of Work.Africa Environment Outlook 3, which addresses key environmental risks for human health and draws pathways for sustainable future in Africa.**************************************************Further InformationFor more information on results of the Governing Council's meeting, see UNEP's press release.For IISD'sdetailed daily summaries of the meeting and photos click here, for a longer summary of the entire event, including an analysis on p13. see the Earth Negotiations Bulletin.For DG Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik's statement on the results of the council, click here.> Joint the group: UNEP Environment for Development