UNEP – United Nations Environment Programme

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global authority on the environment. Founded in 1972 (pursuant to GA resolution 27/2997) and headquartered in Nairobi, UNEP has set up a “Cities Unit” in Paris and it also hosts the “Geneva Environment Network” (GEN) in Geneva to act as a global hub on environmental governance. The GEN is specialized in conducting multilateral activities, conferences and other events, and promoting awareness on environmental issues in Geneva.

UNEP works with governments, civil society, private sector and UN entities to address humanity’s most pressing environmental challenges, in particular the root causes of the triple planetary crisis, i.e., climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, pollution. UNEP’s work is focused on helping countries transition to low-carbon and resource-efficient economies, strengthening environmental governance and law, safeguarding ecosystems, and providing evidence-based data to inform policy decisions. It achieves its mandate mainly through scientific studies, policy support, intergovernmental coordination and public advocacy.

UNEP is governed by the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA), the world’s highest-level decision-making body on the environment, which gathers the 193 UN Member States as well as other stakeholders. UNEA sets the global environmental agenda, defines policy responses to address environmental challenges and sets the strategic guidance to UNEP.

UNEP and Cities

Urban areas are often at the forefront of environmental issues, owing to their high population density, high concentration of industrial activity, transport and energy use, as well as consumption patterns. They play a major role in the production of greenhouse gases, contribute to climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution and also bear the full brunt of these phenomena[1].

Yet, cities are key players in addressing environmental challenges: 70% of climate solutions are within subnational jurisdictions. To address the triple planetary crisis, cities need sustainable urban planning, judicious use of resources, investment in green infrastructure and technologies, policies that harmonize development with environmental preservation and strategies to curtail pollution.

UNEP supports cities worldwide in mitigating their environmental impacts and increasing the resilience of urban systems, focusing on buildings, transport, food, energy, cooling, biodiversity, and more. It advocates for the integration of environmental considerations into policymaking at all levels of governments, for the sustainable governance of urban areas and promotes the engagement of subnational authorities in the implementation of various multilateral environment agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) or the  Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

UNEP Cities Unit subprogrammes

UNEP has set up a Cities Unit to address the challenges of rapid urbanization, environmental degradation, and climate change. It is part of the Climate Change Division Climate Mitigation Branch, in the UNEP Paris office. The UNEP Cities Unit engages States, LRGs, the private sector, academia, and civil society, through the global coalitions for which the Unit hosts secretariats – the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction, the Cool Coalition, and the #UrbanShift programme. Through its 4 subprogrammes, UNEP Cities Unit shapes global environmental and climate policies, promotes science-based policies and frameworks, and provides technical assistance and capacity building. The Cities Unit also engages actively in the Local2030 Coalition activities focusing the localization of SDGs 12, 13 and 15, in particular.

The 4 subprogrammes of UNEP Cities Unit:

1. Zero-emission, efficient and resilient buildings

UNEP hosts the secretariat of the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC), the leading global platform for all buildings stakeholders committed to a zero-emission, efficient, and resilient buildings and construction sector. GlobalABC produces regular Global Status reports for Buildings and Construction, which provides an annual snapshot of the progress of the buildings and construction sector towards the Paris Agreement goals. In December 2023, at the COP28 in Dubaï, France and Morocco launched the Buildings Breakthrough initiative aimed at strengthening international collaboration to decarbonize the building sector – which accounts for 21% of global greenhouse gas emissions – and make clean technologies and sustainable solutions the most affordable, accessible and attractive option in all regions by 2030 (read more about the Buildings Breakthrough’s priority international actions for 2024-2025 here). Further, the First Global Forum on Buildings and Construction was organized by France and UNEP in March 2024 in Paris, where 70 States and multiple other partners endorsed the Declaration de Chaillot, which outlines an international collaboration framework for decarbonizing the buildings sector.

2. Sustainable Energy and Cooling

UNEP hosts the secretariat of the Cool Coalition, a global multi-stakeholder network established to address the pressing challenges of urban heat islands and to facilitate knowledge exchange, advocacy and joint action towards a rapid global transition to efficient and climate-friendly cooling. In 2023, at the COP28 in Dubaï, the Cool Coalition launched the Global Cooling Pledge, endorsed by 71 countries and over 60 non-state actors. It aims to raise ambition and international cooperation through collective global targets to reduce cooling related emissions by 68% from today by 2050. The pledge was supported by the 2023 Global Cooling Watch report, which provides pathways to sustainable cooling measures in three areas: passive cooling, higher-energy efficiency standards, and a faster phase down of climate-warming refrigerants.

3. Net-zero, Circular, and Nature-positive Cities

Urbanshift supports more than 23 cities in India, China, Indonesia, Morocco, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Costa Rica, Argentina and Brazil to adopt an integrated approach to urban development, helping shape resilient, inclusive and zero-carbon cities, where both people and planet can thrive. Additionally, Urbanshift also builds a knowledge and learning platform that connects more than 20 cities with global expertise and cutting-edge research on sustainable urban planning.

UrbanShift is engaged in the organization of the UNEA Cities and Regions Summit, which is held during UN Environment Assemblies. The Cities and Regions Summit regularly reviews the engagement of LRGs in achieving goals of multilateral environmental and climate agreements, especially of the Paris Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity. The 3^rd Summit took place in February 2024 and the GCH was associated with it. It focused on strengthening multi-level governance (i.e. fostering collaboration between national and subnational leaders, city networks, international organizations, civil society, and the private sector) and on urban financing to support effective and inclusive multilateral actions to address the triple planetary crisis. The 4^th UNEA Cities and Regions Summit will take place in Nairobi in December 2025.

Generation Restoration Cities: Supported by Germany, the programme supports urban-nature restoration for climate action in 20+ countries, through pilot projects, capacity building workshops, twinning labs, thematic workshops, and peer-to-peer. The project focuses on advocating for public and private investment in ecosystem restoration and decent work creation through nature-based solutions and the empowerment of city stakeholders across the globe to replicate and upscale ecosystem restoration initiatives. From Istanbul in Türkiye which strengthens ecological corridors, to Douala in Cameroun which is restoring mangroves and Kochi in India which undertakes a canal restoration, several cities worldwide have joined the project to catalyze ecosystem restoration in urban areas.

4. Food Never Waste

To catalyze essential action towards reducing food waste and achieving SDG 12.3 (food loss and waste), it is imperative to grasp the extent of food waste. Measuring food waste allows countries to comprehend the magnitude of the issue, thereby revealing the size of the opportunity, while establishing a baseline for tracking progress. The 2^nd Food Waste Index report (March 2024) tracks global and country-level progress to halve food waste by 2030 and provides a solutions’ spotlight on multi-stakeholder collaboration through public-private partnerships.

Further work on food waste is focused on supporting activities at the subnational level: the UNEP Cities Unit will relaunch the Global Food Never Waste Coalition in autumn 2024, building on its methodologies on food waste reduction and management and moving them towards implementation to support local climate mitigation measures.

Additional resources:

• UNEA-6 Cities and Regions Summit outcome document: Engaging cities and regions in effective multilateral actions to address the triple planetary crisis, 23 February 2024
• Urban Ecosystem-based Adaptation – Briefing Note 8, July 2022
• Beating the Heat: A Sustainable Cooling Handbook for Cities, November 2021
• Primer for Cities for Accessing Financing for Municipal Solid Waste Projects
• A Practical Guide to Climate-resilient Buildings & Communities, 2017
• Stop Food Loss and Waste, information website.
• Urban food systems, UNEP website
• Sustainable Food Systems Programme

Contact:

• General email of the UNEP Cities Unit: unep-citiesandbuildings@un.org

[1] Urban areas are particularly vulnerable to climate change because they are densely populated and have significant infrastructure. The effects manifest as heatwaves, which are intensified by the urban island effect, as well as frequent extreme weather events like floods and storms. Such climatic shifts can put pressure on city services and structures, compromise public health, and cause disturbances in the economic activities of urban areas.

Urban land expansion entails using a lot of raw materials and diminishing green areas leading to loss of biodiversity. The growth of urban areas frequently encroaches upon and diminishes natural ecosystems, resulting in a decline in biodiversity. This has repercussions on wildlife that is uprooted or becomes extinct and impairs the natural services that urban populations depend on, including areas for leisure. Furthermore, the reduction of vegetated areas in cities can adversely affect the psychological and physiological well-being of the people living there.

Due to their dense populations, urban areas are the main sources of various forms of pollution, including air, water and land pollution. This is more pronounced in informal settlements which are usually the most populated, yet least developed sections of urban areas. Pollution can have adverse effects on public health and the urban ecosystem upon which cities rely.