Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
The climate time-bomb is ticking: Temperatures are increasing at record rates and concentrations of carbon dioxide are higher than at any time in at least 2 million years. Climate change and its impacts imperil every living being, industry and ecosystem. Current actions and plans to address the crisis are insufficient.
Goal 13 and the environment
The climate crisis is one of the most pervasive and threatening issues facing the world today, with far-reaching and potentially irreversible impacts. Recent decades have been among the hottest ever, and sea level rise is accelerating at a record rate.
Failing to undertake urgent transformative action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions deeply and rapidly in all sectors will lead to intensifying heatwaves, droughts, flooding, wildfires, sea-level rise, famines and more. All ecosystems and the biodiversity they host will be put at risk, as would the lives of more than 3 billion people.
Due to the climate crisis, by 2050, annual adaptation costs could reach US$565 billion, coral reefs could virtually disappear, 90 per cent of coastal cities could be hit by sea level rise, and up to 70 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa will be forced to migrate.
To address the climate crisis, all hands are needed on deck. All stakeholders must work together to at least halve emissions by 2030, adopt low-carbon options and shift towards sustainable production and consumption patterns. Integrating climate-focused measures in national policies, strategies and planning will be key to addressing the triple planetary crisis.
UNEP’s work on Goal 13
The climate emergency is wreaking havoc on human health, ecosystems, economies and more. In the last two decades, natural disasters linked to extreme weather have accounted for 475,000 deaths and US$2.6 trillion in damages.
Climate action is one of the three main pillars of UNEP’s work. UNEP is driving transformations across all industries and societies at all scales to reimagine humanity’s relationship with the environment. UNEP successfully helped bring an end to leaded fuel and is a principal advocate in the drive to phase out coal and approach net-zero emissions.
UNEP also works closely with governments, private sector partners, and civil society to guide adaptation and mitigation efforts by highlighting climate financing gaps, supporting green technology and outlining ways to bolster energy efficiency.
This series tracks humanity’s progress in limiting global warming well below 2°C and pursuing 1.5°C in line with the Paris Agreement. Since 2010, it has provided an annual science-based assessment of the gap between estimated future global greenhouse gas emissions if countries implement their climate mitigation pledges, and where they should be to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
This series provides an annual science-based assessment of the global progress on adaptation planning, financing, and implementation. It also explores options for enhancing and advancing national and global adaptation efforts and provides an in-depth analysis of selected issues of interest.
This is a roadmap to reducing emissions across sectors in line with the Paris Agreement commitments and in pursuit of climate stability. The six sectors identified are: energy; industry; agriculture and food; forests and land use; transport; and buildings and cities.
International Methane Emissions Observatory
The observatory is creating the world's first global public database of empirically verified emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, at a level of granularity and accuracy never achieved before.
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.
Global Climate Litigation Report: 2023 Status Review
The report shows that people are increasingly turning to the courts to combat the climate crisis. As of December 2022, there have been 2,180 climate-related cases filed in 65 jurisdictions, including international and regional courts, tribunals, quasi-judicial bodies, or other adjudicatory bodies, such as Special Procedures at the United Nations and arbitration tribunals.
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