This initiative unites the tourism sector behind a common vision to tackle the root causes of plastic pollution, enabling businesses and governments to take joint action. To achieve this vision, tourism companies and destinations will be required to make a set of concrete and actionable commitments by 2025.
Natural Resources and the Environment
The huge wildfires in Australia, Amazon, California, the Congo basin and Indonesia have drawn the world’s attention to the risks associated with extended periods of unusually hot and dry weather, which is an effect of climate change. The global average temperature is now 1.1°C higher than at the beginning of last century. Higher temperatures create, in some parts of the world, drier conditions, increasing the likelihood and intensity of wildfires, and megafires.
As you make your New Year’s resolutions, keep the environment in mind. If you don’t know where to start, don’t worry. UNEP’s change-maker community is happy to lead the way. Read on for inspiration, so that you can kick off 2020 as a more sustainable global citizen!
From grassroots champions and corporate leaders to political pioneers, we celebrate champions taking bold action for our world. Now is the time to step up. We need heroes to champion change.
2019 has been a huge year for global discussion and momentum on climate; the climate emergency and the unprecedented youth demands for action captured headlines, but that’s not all. See a recap of the UN Enironment Programme's most read stories.
Mountains are home to 15% of the world's population and 25% of the world's land animals and plants. They provide freshwater for everyday life to 50% of humanity. Their conservation is a key factor for our sustainable future; a future where youth will act as the leader and custodian of these natural jewels. Celebrated on 11 December, this year's International Mountain Day theme "Mountains Matter for Youth" brings a great opportunity for young people to demand that mountains and mountain peoples be central in the national and international development agendas and receive more attention, investments and tailored research.
The ozone layer, a fragile shield of gas, protects the Earth from the harmful portion of the rays of the sun, thus helping preserve life on the planet. The Thirty-First Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is taking place in Rome, Italy (4 - 8 November). The Montreal Protocol has led to the phase-out of 99 per cent of ozone-depleting chemicals in refrigerators, air-conditioners and many other products. Thanks to the collaborative effort of nations, the ozone layer is well on its way to recovery.
The United Nations attaches great importance to ensuring that action on the environment is part of conflict prevention, peacekeeping and peacebuilding strategies, because there can be no durable peace if the natural resources that sustain livelihoods and ecosystems are destroyed. On 5 November 2001, the UN General Assembly declared 6 November of each year as the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict.
Every spring, billions of birds migrate to faraway lands in search of suitable breeding grounds. To protect the migration, scientists have developed a way for everyone across the globe to participate in conservation.