United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
( UPSC Prelims)
News Context
Genesis: Established in 1972 after the UN Conference on Human Environment.
Members: Comprises 193 UN Members, including India.
Funding: Over 95% of its funding is sourced from voluntary contributions.
○ The Environment Fund serves as the core fund for UNEP.
○ Hosts secretariats for various conventions and entities:
● Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).
● Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), jointly managed by UNEP and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
● Common Carbon Metric: Supported by UNEP to evaluate the carbon footprint of building operations globally.
Major Global Multilateral Agreements under UNEP:
● Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS or Bonn Convention), 1979
● Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, 1989
● Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, 1998
● Minamata Convention on Mercury, 2013
● Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), 1973
● Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, 1985
● Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), 1992
● Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, 2001
Reports:
● Key Findings
● State of Finance for Forests 2025: The first report with the theme "Unlock. Unleash. Realizing forest potential requires tripling investments in forests by 2030".
● Other Reports
● Emission Gap Report, 2025
● Adaptation Gap Report, 2025
● Global Environment Outlook 7: "A Future We Choose"
● An Eye on Methane: From measurement to momentum by UNEP's International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO)
● Global Cooling Watch 2025 (under Cool Coalition)
● Frontiers 2025: The Weight of Time Report
● Spreading Like Wildfire