UN Environment Programme

This project aims to support developing countries and countries in transition in developing integrated solid waste management systems at the national and city levels, resulting in increased material recovery and reduction of most harmful practice, i.e., open burning and dumping of waste. Many countries do not handle waste streams in an integrated manner, and relevant stakeholders are not informed on how they can contribute to the waste management systems. Such situation exacerbates negative impacts of waste on the environment through increased greenhouse gas emission from the waste sector, waste related damages to ecosystems and their functions, and increasing pollution associated with waste inappropriately managed. Waste generation has been on the rise, especially in cities and municipalities as a result of rapid urbanization, livelihoods and changes in lifestyles, with poor collection and disposal practices. Around 8 billion people generate waste every day, and at least 50% of municipal solid waste is not managed in a controlled manner. It is projected that an amount of waste will increase, and the current waste management systems cannot handle ever increasing waste generated, including from disaster and conflict related events. Building on UNEP’s earlier effort on the development of national or city-level waste management strategies, this project will focus on implementation of national and/or city waste management strategies in developing countries and countries in transition and their transition towards zero waste. This flagship project is the main UNEP effort to achieve the UNEP MTS’s 2025 outcome 3B, “Waste management is improved” as well as the 2026-2029 outcome, “Waste discharged into the environment has declined in volume”. The project will produce three outputs: 1) National and/or city waste management strategies implemented; 2) Global and regional waste management partnerships influence national or city level waste management decisions; 3) Knowledge on integrated solid waste management produced, collated and shared. National and/or city waste management strategies provide national and/or city guidance on how the waste management systems can be improved with medium- and long-term targets and goals. Implementation of strategies will be accelerated through developing policies and legislative frameworks, planning for infrastructure/technology introduction, institutional capacity building and waste monitoring and assessment based on the integrated solid waste management approaches. To provide opportunities to learn from the existing knowledge of integrated solid waste management, the project will generate, collate, and share knowledge on waste management, taking into consideration stakeholders’ ‘demands and needs as well as global priorities of waste management. It is further important to involve a wide range of waste management stakeholders in the project activities and stimulate and motivate them to take sustainable actions to change their production and consumption patterns. The project will conduct a series of outreach activities and strengthen communications with the targeted stakeholders.

UN-REDD is the UN’s knowledge and advisory platform on forest solutions to the climate crisis. It is a UN flagship partnership, composed of three agencies – FAO, UNDP and UNEP – that work together to assist countries to implement the Paris Agreement, with each providing support to well-defined technical areas of expertise. Within the framework of the UN Reforms, UN-REDD constitutes a unique case of inter-agency collaboration towards the SDGs. With over a decade of engagement with, and support to 65 partner countries, the UN-REDD Programme has amassed unparalleled experience and knowledge on how to advance the climate and forest agenda. These lessons have informed the design of the new Programme, 2021-2025. By capitalizing on the respective strengths of the agencies, the Programme’s joint vision represents a step forward to strengthening collaboration in support of Member States in implementing the 2030 Agenda. Given the challenge ahead the UN-REDD must elevate its ambition, extend its reach and concurrently diversify its funding base. The international community has engaged in increasing commitments and ambition worldwide in the response to the climate crisis, with a major focus on Nature-Based Solutions (in which forests are pivotal), as confirmed at the UN Climate Action Summit (2019). For policy and financial instruments to function and deliver ambitious and lasting transformations in land and forest sector, countries will need qualitative, independent and trusted advice to be able to navigate their complex technical, stakeholder and policy dimensions. The UN-REDD program can play a pivotal role to deliver on this ambition. In this regard, it aims to achieve four interrelated outcomes: - Outcome 1: Forest-based GHG emission reductions and enhanced removals, of increasing quality unlocked at a level of 1 GtCO2e by 2025 [forest solutions realized] ‐ Outcome 2. Enabling USD 5 billion mobilized for REDD+ from results-based payment schemes, carbon markets and other transactions under Art. 6 of the Paris Agreement [forest solutions rewarded] ‐ Outcome 3. More than 15 countries significantly enhance the forest component of their NDCs in the 2020-2025 cycle, including quantitative targets [forest solutions enhanced] ‐ Outcome 4. Connecting actors and knowledge for forest solutions [Nature-based Solutions movement to accelerate climate action] Within the scope of this ambition, the UN-REDD Results Framework for the period 2021-2025 is structured around a set of outputs that align with international agreements and trends that suit country demands and that reflect donor interests. These represent key domains of policy advice, technical assistance and knowledge that UN-REDD will provide to countries and stakeholders to advance forest solutions. This Project contributes to the UNEP Medium Term Strategy 2018-2021 and 2022-2025. It is central to the delivery of the Climate Change Sub-programme Expected accomplishment which is focused on REDD+ as a form of climate change mitigation. It critically provides technical support for countries to meet the UNFCCC Warsaw pillars for accessing results-based payments, as well as helps to meet a number of Sustainable Development Goal targets and corresponding indicators.

This project aims at strengthening science-based policy-making for increased impact towards the Sustainable Development Goals by assessing key environmental issues and providing focused outlooks. It attempts to identify environmental challenges and opportunities for sustainable development, while strengthening the science-policy interface to support regional, national and local governments, the business sector, and civil society including non-governmental organizations and local community groups (women, men and children). The project’s approach will be integrated, inclusive and evidence-based, ensuring scientific robustness and credibility, policy-neutral legitimacy and enhanced transparency. Informed decision- and policy-making on today’s key environmental matters at regional, national and local scales should be based on the sound scientific assessment of the state of the environment, in conjunction with the driving forces, trends in pressures and their environmental impact, while providing policy response options and solutions for governments and other stakeholders. While we near the end of the second decade of the Twenty-First Century, governments and principal stakeholders often still lack adequate capacity and robust knowledge in the fields of data collection, information, analysis, scientific assessments, and science-based policy options. Often, the lack of access to sound scientific data, clear information and robust knowledge continues to hamper decision-making by policy-makers and relevant stakeholders. This project is meant to tackle this challenge for a set of specific and selected environmental themes as requested by governments and stakeholders during the past few years.

The issue of technology transfer has been a cornerstone of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) since it was established. As a major step forward, the Technology Mechanism was established by the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) in Cancun in December 2010. The Technology Mechanism consists of a Technology Executive Committee and a Climate Technology Centre and Network. The mission of the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) is to stimulate technology cooperation and to enhance the development and transfer of technologies and to assist developing country Parties at their request, consistent with their respective capabilities and national circumstances and priorities, “to build or strengthen their capacity to identify technology needs, to facilitate the preparation and implementation of technology projects and strategies taking into account gender considerations to support action on mitigation and adaptation and enhance low emissions and climate-resilient development”. The Climate Technology Centre and Network Managing requests from Nationally Designated Entities (NDE) and providing highly qualified support to countries along all stages of the technology cycle, from identification of technology needs, through assessment, selection and piloting of technological solutions, to their customization and widespread deployment represent the core mandate of the CTCN. Consistent with COP decisions, the CTCN is to serve three main functions, namely: 1) Managing requests and responses in the technology cycle; 2) Fostering collaboration to accelerate technology transfer; 3) Strengthening networks, partnerships and capacity building for technology development and transfer, and fostering collaboration to accelerate technology transfer. These core functions of the CTCN will be supported by broader outreach and awareness activities and a knowledge management system that enables learning and enhanced response quality over the life of the CTCN, reflecting the two other functions. Scope of the Programme and expected outcomes UNEP and UNIDO established this joint programme to host the CTCN with a view to contributing to the development objective of reducing both the carbon intensity and the climate vulnerability of development and growth in developing countries. The CTCN will reduce the risks and costs of technology transfer and widespread deployment throughout relevant sectors of developing countries by supporting them to make informed choices about mitigation and adaptation technologies. UNEP and UNIDO joined to form a consortium consisting of leading institutions located in both developing and developed countries. At the 18th session of the COP in Doha in December 2012, this consortium was selected as host of the CTCN and at the 27th session of UNEP’s Governing Council in February 2013, a host agreement was signed in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding between the UNFCCC and UNEP as lead partner of the consortium. The organisational setup includes a lean Core Centre managed by UNEP and UNIDO responsible for overall coordination, Network development, and liaison with NDEs. The Consortium Partners, who constitute a Technical Resource Pool that could be tapped quickly in response to country needs, are supporting the Core Centre in preparing country response plans and providing a strong technical link to the Network. Considering the wide range of adaptation and mitigation expertise required across sectors, regions and sub-regions and technologies, a wide and diverse Network of regional and national institutions will be required as a delivery mechanism that can respond effectively and efficiently to requests from developing countries. As per COP decisions, it is through the Network that the bulk of the technical assistance on climate technologies will be executed. Through this Programme, the CTCN will assist countries in advancing priority technologies through the life cycle of technology development, demonstration, deployment, and diffusion including accessing necessary know-how, information, capacity building and finance for meeting local development needs. This will include a specific focus on facilitating uptake and adoption of technologies suitable for local conditions. The expected outcome of the CTCN is to have accelerated, diversified and scaled-up, including through increased investment, the transfer of ESTs for climate change mitigation and adaptation, consistent with their national socio-economic and sustainable development priorities. This requires the building and strengthening of developing countries’ capacity to identify technology needs to facilitate the preparation and implementation of technology projects and strategies, taking into account gender considerations to support action on adaptation and mitigation and enhance low emissions and climate-resilient development.

Environmental challenges are typically not confined by national borders and often require concerted responses by groups of countries. In its Outcome Document ‘The Future We Want’, the Rio+20 Summit explicitly recognized the importance of regional and sub-regional efforts towards sustainable development. Therefore, this project aims at increasing effectiveness and coherence in environmental governance by the countries concerned, with the main intermediate outcome of increasing the number of strengthened mechanisms to address the governance of shared natural resources and transboundary environmental issues among countries.UNEP’s convening power at the sub-regional and regional levels gives it a unique position to support countries in enhancing transboundary cooperation pertaining to the environment. Within the context of the Environmental Governance Sub-programme, this project will focus on supporting countries that mandated UNEP accordingly, in establishing and strengthening institutional mechanisms for addressing common interests in shared natural resources, transboundary ecosystems and common environmental problems. In response to priorities emanating from regional, subregional intergovernmental and other forums, this project will achieve its objective through 2 components with different levels of engagement depending on institutionalization level of transboundary cooperation:1.Where no transboundary institutional mechanisms exist, UNEP will support the development of new mechanisms for transboundary environmental governance;2.Where transboundary institutional mechanisms already exist but require further strengthening, UNEP will enhance existing mechanisms for transboundary environmental governance.

fossil fuel industry is responsible for one-third of anthropogenic methane emissions and is the sector with the highest potential for fast reductions that could slow the rate of global warming as efforts continue to decarbonize the energy system through cleaner forms of energy. To date action by companies and governments on fossil fuel methane emissions has been limited and uncoordinated at the global level. UNEP will establish an International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) that accelerates reductions in fossil fuel methane emissions globally. IMEO will be the nucleus of a multi-sector partnership, including companies, research institutions, governments, and civil society partners. Hosted within UNEP, IMEO will benefit from UNEP’s experience on methane, track record of collaborating with diverse partners on complex environmental issues, global reach, and institutional legitimacy. IMEO will build upon the success and experience of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition’s Mineral Methane Initiative, which seeks to achieve ambitious methane emissions reductions of 45% by 2025 and 60-75% by 2030. Furthermore, it will contribute to Sustainable Development Goal #13 on Climate Action: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning. Specifically, IMEO will increase the number of countries with Nationally Determined Contributions and Long-term Strategies under the Paris Agreement. To achieve this objective, IMEO will aggregate and analyse multiple methane emissions data streams, including company reporting, national inventories reported to the Climate Change secretariat, direct measurements, and satellite observations, and reconcile inconsistencies between reported and observed emissions levels. By assisting industry and governments in addressing uncertainty related to reported emissions, IMEO will improve the consistency and credibility of methane emissions data and accelerate mitigation actions based on sound science. Additionally, IMEO will commission new scientific measurement studies, provide feedback to companies on the quality of their data and the ambition of their targets, and engage governments on the findings from the data analysis. The Observatory will also be a platform for dialogue between industry, governments, research institutions, and civil society organizations conducting research on fossil fuel operations, and will engage with countries to implement methane mitigation projects by acting as a resource for capacity building, best practice sharing and emissions measurement support.