In June 2012, world leaders gathered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for a UN Conference on Sustainable Development (also known as Rio+20) to renew political commitment to sustainable development. The Conference had the following two themes: 1) Green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication and 2) Institutional framework for sustainable development.
The discussion under the institutional for framework for sustainable development resulted in the strengthening of UNEP as articulated in paragraph 88 (full text available below) of the Rio+20 outcome document, entitled “The future we want”.
Since then, UNEP has made various efforts under the guidance of member States to fully implement paragraph 88, including by establishing the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) to succeed the 58-member of the Governing Council. Relevant decisions, resolutions and reports include:
- Action plan for the implementation of paragraph 88 as submitted to UNEA-5 (December 2020). Other UN language versions are available here (UNEP/EA.5/23).
- Report containing elements to inform the development of an action plan as mandated by UNEA decision 4/2 (July 2020).
- Synthesis report on the progress of implementation of paragraph 8 (January 2020).
- UNEA decision 4/2: Provisional agenda, date, and venue of the 5th session of the UNEA, paragraph 14 (March 2019) - Paragraph 14 “Requests the Executive Director to submit an action plan for the implementation of subparagraphs (a)–(h) of paragraph 88 of the outcome document of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, to be submitted for consideration by the UNEA at its fifth session, and invites the Director-General of the UN Office at Nairobi to contribute to the development of the plan in respect of the implementation of subparagraph (g) concerning the headquarters functions of the UNEP in Nairobi.”
- Report of the Executive Director on the implementation of UNEA resolution 3/11 (March 2019).
- Supplementary information on the implementation of paragraph 88 (March 2019).
- UNEA resolution 3/11: Implementation of paragraph 88 (a)-(h) of the outcome document of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, entitled “The future we want” (December 2017).
- Reports of the Executive Director on the implementation of Governing Council decision 27/2 on the following specific topics (June 2014) :
- Stakeholder engagement in the UNEP
- Strengthening the science-policy interface
- Contributions by the regional ministerial environment forums
- Enhancing the coordinating role of UNEP in the system
- Access to information policy
- Consolidation of headquarters functions
Additional Resources
- International Environmental Governance: Accomplishments and Way Forward (March 2019). Commissioned by the Nordic Council of Ministers, this report analyses actions taken to renew international environmental governance to fulfill commitments made at the Rio+20.
Paragraph 88
88. We are committed to strengthening the role of the United Nations Environment Programme as the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. We reaffirm General Assembly resolution 2997 (XXVII) of 15 December 1972 establishing the United Nations Environment Programme and other relevant resolutions that reinforce its mandate, as well as the Nairobi Declaration on the Role and Mandate of the United Nations Environment Programme of 7 February 1997 and the Malmö Ministerial Declaration of 31 May 2000. In this regard, we invite the Assembly, at its sixty-seventh session, to adopt a resolution strengthening and upgrading the United Nations Environment Programme in the following manner:
(a) Establish universal membership in the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme, as well as other measures to strengthen its governance as well as its responsiveness and accountability to Member States;
(b) Have secure, stable, adequate and increased financial resources from the regular budget of the United Nations and voluntary contributions to fulfill its mandate;
(c) Enhance the voice of the United Nations Environment Programme and its ability to fulfill its coordination mandate within the United Nations system by strengthening its engagement in key United Nations coordination bodies and empowering it to lead efforts to formulate United Nations system-wide strategies on the environment;
(d) Promote a strong science-policy interface, building on existing international instruments, assessments, panels and information networks, including the Global Environment Outlook, as one of the processes aimed at bringing together information and assessment to support informed decision-making;
(e) Disseminate and share evidence-based environmental information, and raise public awareness on critical, as well as emerging, environmental issues;
(f) Provide capacity-building to countries, as well as support, and facilitate access to technology;
(g) Progressively consolidate headquarters functions in Nairobi, as well as strengthen its regional presence, in order to assist countries, upon request, in the implementation of their national environmental policies, collaborating closely with other relevant entities of the United Nations system;
(h) Ensure the active participation of all relevant stakeholders, drawing on best practices and models from relevant multilateral institutions and exploring new mechanisms to promote transparency and the effective engagement of civil society.
For more information on issues related to paragraph 88, please contact Hyun.Sung[at]un.org.
