The state of the planet is a key topic of discussion of the work of the United Nations General Assembly, including at key moments of the year such as July’s High-level Political Forum and September’s High-Level Week. The page features highlights of the work and activities of UNEP and its partners.
20 Sep
2023
20:00
Leaders discuss how to increase funding for development
The High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development takes place today, part of an effort to jumpstart progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The session will focus on the implementation of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, which was adopted in 2015 to provide a new global framework for funding sustainable development. Right now, only 15 per cent of the SDGs targets are on track, and experts say a lack of financing is a major reason why.
20 Sep
2023
19:41
UN Secretary-General: “Humanity has opened the gates to hell”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres opened today’s Climate Ambition Summit with an impassioned call for the world to act on the climate crisis, saying a surge in wildfires, extreme heat and other disasters is threatening humanity’s future.
“Our focus here is on climate solutions – and our task is urgent. Humanity has opened the gates to hell,” Guterres said.
Earth is on pace to warm a potentially catastrophic 2.8°C before century’s end. Guterres pushed world leaders to use the summit to speed up efforts to slow the crisis.
“Today can be a powerful moment to generate momentum that we build on over the coming months. We can – and we must – turn up the tempo.”
20 Sep
2023
18:45
Happening today: High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response
During this session, Member States are expected to discuss a declaration that would strengthen how the world prepares for and responds to pandemics. Among other things, the measure calls for greater access to vaccines and treatment for the least fortunate.
The session comes amid mounting concerns that nature loss and the illegal wildlife trade are increasing the risk of disease transmission between animals and humans, a process that can spark pandemics.
This meeting is the first of three high-level events on health during the UN General Assembly.
20 Sep
2023
17:06
Happening now: Climate Ambition Summit
The summit is designed to supercharge the global effort to counter the climate crisis. It will feature three sessions.
Credibility of net zero (2–3 p.m.)
Financial institutions, governments and more will outline their plans to develop mandatory targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Delivering climate justice (3–4 p.m.)
The session will showcase how the world can adapt to climate change and bolster its early warning systems for disasters.
Accelerating decarbonization (4–5:15 p.m.)
This discussion will focus on how industry can phase out fossil fuels, while touching on battery storage and the minerals critical to renewable energy.
20 Sep
2023
11:02
Dia Mirza: SDGs will benefit “everyone, everywhere”
UNEP Goodwill Ambassador Dia Mirza encouraged continued action on all levels to meet the Sustainable Development Goals during a session at the UN General Assembly on Monday.
“It is really upon us as individuals to make the goals our own and deliver on the promise that we’ve made to each other and to the world to leave it healthy and progressive and equal to everyone, everywhere,” Mirza said.
The session also introduced Open Planet, an open-source library of high-quality nature footage and data visualizations that backers say will enable greater storytelling about the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste.
20 Sep
2023
09:25
Coming up today: Wednesday highlights
Today sees a number of key events.
Climate Ambition Summit: Convened by the UN Secretary-General, it aims to accelerate action on the climate crisis.
The High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development: The session will focus on how the world can ramp up funding for sustainable development.
Green Transition: This panel discussion will examine ways to decarbonize the global economy. UNEP Deputy Executive Director Elizabeth Mrema will participate.
Redesigning fashion storytelling – a playbook for change: This panel will explore how the fashion industry’s powerful marketing arm can support sustainable consumption.
Accelerating decarbonization through collaboration and implementation: Part of the Climate Ambition Summit, this event will focus on how countries can develop large-scale battery systems and sustainably extract minerals critical for renewable energy.
High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response: Member States will discuss how to limit the social and economic fallout from pandemics.
Launch of NBSAP Accelerator Partnership: A new initiative that aims to strengthen the capacity of countries to deliver on their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans and accelerate action on the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
19 Sep
2023
20:56
Happening today: High-Level Event for Nature and People
The High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, the Global Ocean Alliance, and the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature are holding a high-level event to demonstrate game-changing ways to stem biodiversity loss.
The event comes with more than 1 million species facing extinction, largely because of human actions.
Innovation is considered crucial to reversing biodiversity loss and achieving a nature-positive world by 2030, which observers say is a pre-requisite for sustainable development.
19 Sep
2023
20:21
Happening now: high-level debate
World leaders are gathering today in New York to engage in the annual high-level General Debate under the theme, “Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: Accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals.”
Heads of state and ministers will explore solutions to intertwined global challenges to advance peace, security and sustainable development.
Watch the meetings live and on demand at UN Web TV or on the General Debate website.
19 Sep
2023
19:37
Emmy-nominated actor: There is “hope” in the fight against climate crisis
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, best known for starring in the landmark series Game of Thrones, called for urgent action to address the climate crisis during a moderated talk at the UN General Assembly on Monday.
Coster-Waldau also discussed his upcoming documentary, An Optimist's Guide to the Planet, which highlights his travels exploring various environmental solutions.
“The reality is climate change is threatening all of us,” he said. “[But] there is hope. If you get the impression that all hope is out, that there’s no solution, that we can’t solve this, then why bother? We need to bother.”
19 Sep
2023
17:14
Watch: SDGs about “justice”, says UNEP Executive Director
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are ultimately about securing justice for the least fortunate and ensuring the prospects of future generations are not compromised, UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen said yesterday.
Speaking after the announcement of a joint declaration in which countries promised “bold, accelerated” action on the goals, Andersen highlighted the need for international cooperation to ensure the SDGs don’t slip away.
“It is only by working together in multilateral settings that we can reach… for the SDGs. That is how we live without poverty.”
