Tag: UNEP

World Environment Day 2025 mobilizes commitment, action to end plastic pollution globally

Stuart Mitchell

Communities, civil society, businesses, and governments around the world today marked World Environment Day under the theme #BeatPlasticPollution, with official celebrations held in the Republic of Korea’s Jeju Province. Plastic pollution permeates every corner of the planet. By 2040, plastic leakage to the environment is predicted to grow by 50 per cent, and that pollution creeps into our bodies through the food we eat, the water we drink, and even the air that we breathe. World Environment Day 2025 calls for collective action to tackle plastic pollution. It comes exactly two months before…

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New $15 million initiative launched to catalyse sustainable investment in the Congo Basin

Stuart Mitchell

A new initiative in one of the world’s most vital ecosystems – the Congo Basin – aims to unlock nature-positive, climate-resilient business opportunities for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises across critical green sectors.  The partnership between the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI), will initially invest $15 million, which will serve as a catalyst to raise additional public and private finance, ultimately targeting a total investment of $30 million in the region. By fostering local entrepreneurship and pioneering blended finance opportunities,…

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Zero Waste Day shines a light on fashion and textiles

Stuart Mitchell

Hundreds of thousands of people worldwide marked the International Day of Zero Waste, which spotlighted solutions to the mounting environmental and social problems caused by the fashion and textile sector.   More than 240 events were held across the globe, from an exhibition in China where old fabrics were reimagined as furniture to a youth hackathon in France. Some 630,000 people joined the Zero-Waste-Day conversation on social media, while airport billboards from Istanbul to Beijing showcased the importance of reusing and repairing clothing.   At the core of Zero Waste Day, which…

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UNEP’s 2024 Champions of the Earth recognizes six bold environmental leaders

Stuart Mitchell

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has announced recipients of the 2024 Champions of the Earth, honoured for their outstanding leadership, brave actions and sustainable solutions to tackle land degradation, drought and desertification. This year’s laureates include a minister of Indigenous Peoples, an environmental defender, a sustainable agriculture initiative, an Indigenous rights advocate, a scientist focused on afforestation and a pioneering ecologist. The annual Champions of the Earth award, the UN’s highest environmental honour, recognizes trailblazers at the forefront of efforts to protect people and planet. Since 2005, the award has recognized…

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Nature-based Solutions can generate up to 32 million new jobs by 2030, but investments in skills needed

Stuart Mitchell

Investing in nature-based solutions (NbS) could create up to 32 million new jobs by 2030. This is according to a new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Launched at the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the Decent Work in Nature-based Solutions 2024 report calls for increased and more targeted investments to the countries with most potential for use of…

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