Tag: UNEP

Comoros launches new US $54 million initiative to scale up nature-based climate action

Stuart Mitchell

The Government of the Union of Comoros recently launched a major new climate resilience initiative backed by a US $10 million grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and US $44 million in co-financing from partners including the World Bank and the French Development Agency. The investment aims to help safeguard 140,000 coastal residents by restoring, protecting, and sustainably managing 6,200 hectares of mangroves, beaches, and upper watersheds that make up the islands’ natural defence system. The five-year project is being executed by the Comorian General Directorate of Environment and…

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Stocktake of Sustainability Standards and Initiatives for minerals and metals

Stuart Mitchell

Amid the global rising demand for minerals and metals, a new report from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF) maps over 100 Sustainability Standards and Initiatives operating across value chains to clarify how these interact with laws, regulations and policy commitments, and how they might enhance environmental governance rather than undermine it.  The study finds that while these standards and initiatives are increasingly used to promote environmental and social performance, their rapid proliferation has created a fragmented and often confusing…

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World’s first impact bond on weather and climate data opens for contributions

Stuart Mitchell

The Systematic Observations Financing Facility (SOFF) has opened for contributions to raise USD 200 million towards a climate impact bond aimed at strengthening systematic observation of the planet and help close critical weather and climate data gaps. The Systematic Observation Impact Bond will be announced as part of the COP30 Action Agenda, supported by the Government of Brazil as COP30 Presidency. If backed, the bond would enable 30 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to meet the requirements of the Global Basic Observing Network (GBON) —…

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Food Waste Breakthrough launches to help cities halve food waste, cut methane emissions and reduce hunger

Stuart Mitchell

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and partners today launched a new initiative to halve food waste by 2030 and cut up to seven per cent from methane emissions as part of efforts to slow climate change. Launched at COP30 in Belém, the Food Waste Breakthrough is a 2030 Climate Solution under the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action, and unites governments, cities, and civil society to act on an issue that strikes at the heart of global hunger and climate change. The world wastes over one billion tonnes of food every year, contributing up to…

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UNEP launches $100 million programme to accelerate climate and nature action

Stuart Mitchell

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), together with the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), have officially launched the Net-Zero Nature-Positive Accelerator Integrated Programme. With $100 million in GEF funding and $700 million in co-financing, the Programme will be led by UNEP, with CAF and ADB serving as co-leads. The initiative seeks to align climate and biodiversity goals by driving systemic economic and financial transformation, while mobilizing governments, businesses, and communities to take urgent, integrated action. Despite clear scientific consensus on the…

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