Health gains visibility in national climate plans, while opportunities for stronger implementation remain, report finds

As discussions on loss and damage advance at the Bonn Climate Change Conference, a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme Copenhagen Climate Centre (UNEP‑CCC) examines how countries are reflecting health-related losses and impacts within national climate policy frameworks. The report, Loss and Damage Beyond Economics, assesses how countries address non‑economic losses, particularly those related to health, in national climate plans, including Nationally Determined Contributions, National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and Health National Adaptation Plans. The findings come as the health impacts of climate change intensify worldwide, with heat‑related deaths…

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New US$9.8 million initiative to boost climate resilience through Ethiopia’s Green Legacy

Ethiopia is scaling up nature-based solutions to tackle the growing impacts of climate change, with the launch of a new US$ 9.8 million project supported by the Least Developed Countries Fund of the Global Environment Facility and implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Scaling up the Green Legacy Initiative best practices to enhance the climate resilience of smallholder farmers and vulnerable groups in Ethiopia will strengthen the resilience of vulnerable communities by expanding ecosystem-based adaptation approaches across the country, in a way that prepares for the future climate. “Restoration…

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USD 52.8 million in new GEF support to boost UNEP-led environmental initiatives worldwide

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has announced USD 52.8 million for four new UN Environment Programme (UNEP)–led projects during its 70th Council meeting. The funding will support practical solutions to some of today’s most urgent environmental challenges, including restoring critical ecosystems, expanding clean mobility and strengthening global climate transparency.  This announcement comes a week after the seventh session of the United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA-7) that brought together over 6,000 delegates from over 180 United Nations Member States. UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen welcomed the announcement, saying: “These new investments…

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

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

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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