End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Eradicating extreme poverty remains one of the greatest challenges facing humanity. More than 650 million people around the world live on less than US$1.90 a day, a total that has risen sharply in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Goal 1 and the environment
Preserving natural resources and protecting the environment is essential for ending poverty. Some 70 per cent of the world’s poorest people draw on natural resources for their livelihoods. The most vulnerable are also most likely to be living in environmentally fragile areas and many are forced to exploit natural resources in unsustainable ways, entrenching the cycle of poverty. They also bear the brunt of environmental catastrophes, including the climate crisis, despite contributing the least to these crises.
On a global scale, the decline of the natural world threatens economic development.
Nature provides a range of goods and services that generate income, support job creation, contribute to social safety nets and reduce inequity. By ensuring that resources – like soil, water, and biodiversity – are healthy and productive, we can create new, lasting opportunities for the poor and most vulnerable.
Targets linked to the environment: 1.5
UNEP’s work on Goal 1
Nature is the foundation of nearly every economy on Earth. Yet the planet is being destroyed at an alarming rate. Humanity has significantly altered three-quarters of the Earth’s dry land and two-thirds of its seascapes, whittling away at the natural resources that underpin economies and trapping people in poverty.
UNEP is focused on ending that destructive cycle and laying the foundation for more sustainable economies, ones that create opportunities for the most vulnerable. UNEP does this primarily by finding solutions to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste.
World Environment Situation Room
This platform features openly accessible data on a range of environmental threats, from climate change to air pollution to biodiversity loss. Many of the perils it covers predominantly affect the least fortunate among us. The data helps inform policy making at the local, national and global levels, supporting the drive for sustainable development.
News and Stories
Explore the other Goals
UNEP helps its 193 Member States to foster climate stability, live in harmony with nature and forge a pollution-free future, supporting the achievement of all 17 SDGs. The institution is the custodian of more than two dozen indicators within the SDGs, advising governments on how to achieve their targets and helping states measure their progress.
