putting the environment at the heart of people’s lives 2018 ANNUAL REPORT REPORT ANNUAL Foreword by António Guterres United Nations Secretary-General In 2018, the world received a stark wake-up call when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C. The Panel’s research told us that time is running out to minimize extreme weather events, species loss, water scarcity and many other climate impacts that endanger lives, economies and livelihoods. UN Environment’s Emissions Gap research tells us we need to increase our ambition five-fold to meet the 1.5°C target. This may seem unrealistic. But, as this Annual Report shows, the solutions to climate change and other pressing environmental issues are available. We just need to push harder. 2019 presents many opportunities to increase ambition. We have my climate summit in September. We have continued work on making the Paris Agreement fit for purpose. We have the entry into force of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which can avert 0.4°C of warming by reducing the use of greenhouse gases in the cooling industry. We also have the fourth United Nations Environment Assembly in March 2019. A key focus of the Assembly is resource efficiency. Doing more with less can positively affect not only climate change but the depletion of natural resources and the pollution of air, water and land—all issues of grave concern that UN Environment pushed hard on in 2018. I urge Member States to use the Assembly to make new commitments and use the organization’s expertise to reshape their economies. UN Environment has been, and will continue to be, a crucial actor in supporting nations to deliver on their environmental commitments. In 2019, I fully expect the organization to continue this transformative work and help steer the world towards a more sustainable track. 2018 ANNUAL REPORT REPORT ANNUAL Foreword by Joyce Msuya Acting Executive Director, UN Environment Programme Over the last year, UN Environment supported Member States as they stepped up their efforts to build a better, cleaner and more equitable world. While it was a challenging year, we saw hope in growing action and global commitment to new ways of doing business that tackle the environmental challenges we face. Our role in highlighting best practices, advocating action and bringing together governments, civil society and businesses once again proved critical. World Environment Day 2018 inspired As you will read in this report, we are action on plastic pollution, reaching catalysing change in many other areas: hundreds of millions of people in over from supporting efforts to make the 190 countries. In pledging to phase cooling industry more climate-friendly, out single-use plastics by 2022, India to reducing and better managing has set the bar high for the rest of the waste in the hotel industry in Jordan, world. Commitments from 57 nations to helping nations such as Saint Lucia covering over 60 per cent of the world’s report and track their environmental coastlines made our Clean Seas commitments. campaign the largest global compact for combatting marine litter. In 2019, we will build on our successes, focusing on promoting the We also partnered with the World circular economy, mobilizing science Health Organization to host the first and data, promoting greener cities global meeting on air pollution, which and backing renewable energy. The kills millions of people each year, UN Environment Assembly in March and continued to support national is a tremendous opportunity to boost strategies and policies on cleaner innovation that can help us change transport. For example, we supported the choices we make and how we the development of national strategies consume and produce. I am confident for electric mobility in several that many new solutions will emerge countries in Latin America—a key step from this vital meeting. Finally, we are in reducing air pollution and mitigating fully engaged in UN reform efforts climate change. and will work more closely with other UN agencies to contribute to UN-wide Our work on financing for sustainable results. development also broke new ground. The world’s leading chief executive 2019 is a year in which the world must officers gathered in Paris to draft take decisive action. It is also clear principles for responsible banking that the environmental challenges we under the leadership of the Finance face cannot be addressed by any one Initiative. Forty-five banks and financial entity or institution alone. institutions have endorsed the UN Environment is once again “Doing more with principles. We also saw the first-ever counting on its staff, funding partners, Tropical Landscapes Bond—launched and other stakeholders to help us less can positively in collaboration with BNP Paribas, make the difference, as you have done affect not only the World Agroforestry Centre and in the past. Thank you for your past partners. This US$95 million bond will and future hard work. Together, we can climate change, restore 80,000 hectares in Indonesia. deliver on our mandate for people and but depletion of planet. natural resources, South-South cooperation is equally important. We brought together and the pollution of organizations and countries to save air, water and land— the Cuvette Central Peatlands in the Congo Basin, which stores the carbon other issues of equivalent of three years of global grave concern that greenhouse gas emissions. The Brazzaville Declaration—signed by the UN Environment Democratic Republic of Congo, the pushed hard on Republic of Congo and Indonesia— in 2018.” keeps this carbon in the ground. Selected 2018 highlights Beating plastic pollution Global policy action on plastic waste Reducing plastic pollution of the oceans is As of July 2018: a priority issue for UN Environment. In 2018, we helped nations and individuals make huge commitments to giving up single-use 127 countries had adopted plastics. legislation to regulate plastic bags. • World Environment Day 2018 targeted plastic pollution, with global host India 27 countries had enacted leading the way by pledging to give up legislation banning specific single-use plastics by 2022. The world’s products, materials or biggest day for global environmental production levels. action reached hundreds of millions of people in more than 190 countries and 27 countries have instituted 60 languages. It engaged 6.5 million taxes on the production of people online, including 90 celebrities plastic bags. from all parts of the world, and inspired thousands of events across the globe, from beach clean-ups to zero-waste 30 countries charged marathons. consumers fees for plastic bags. • Many others countries, blocs and businesses made commitments, such 63 countries had mandates as Nigeria and Honduras. The European for producer responsibility on Union proposed a ban on 10 single-use single-use plastics, including plastic items representing 70 per cent of deposit-refunds, product take- all marine litter by 2025. Businesses like back and recycling targets. Ikea and Foodpanda pledged to act. • Commitments from 57 nations, covering 8 countries had established over 60 per cent of the world’s coastlines, bans of microbeads through made our Clean Seas campaign the national laws or regulations. largest global compact for combatting marine litter. Financing sustainable development • The Inquiry into the Design of a Our work on financing for sustainable Sustainable Financial System completed development broke new ground in 2018: its four-year mandate with a report showing that green bond issuance • Forty-five banks and financial institutions grew from US$11 billion in 2013 to endorsed the principles for responsible US$155 billion in 2017, while policy banking, drafted under the leadership of measures to advance sustainable finance the Finance Initiative. doubled over four years to 300. • We launched the first Tropical • Almost two dozen financial centres, from Landscapes Bond, worth US$95 million, Casablanca to London to Shanghai, joined in collaboration with BNP Paribas, the the UN Environment-hosted Financial World Agroforestry Centre and partners. Centres for Sustainability Network to The bond will restore 80,000 hectares of help align investments with sustainable tropical forests in Indonesia. development and climate action. minimizing the scale and impact of climate change ANNUAL REPORT 2018 REPORT ANNUAL CLIMATE CHANGE CLIMATE UN Environment fights to cut cooling and heating emissions Cooling and heating are—for those lucky enough to have them—a lifesaver, keeping children healthy, vaccines stable, food fresh, energy supplies stable, economies productive and environments clean. With energy consumption in the refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump sectors In our work on climate change expected to surge 33 times by 2100, we need to we focus on: build up renewable energy and energy efficiency to avoid runaway climate change. This is possible, as the work of UN Environment’s District Energy in Cities Initiative is showing in • Climate resilience, where we Bosnia and Herzegovina, India and the 14 other support countries to use ecosystem- countries where it works. based and other approaches to adapt to climate change. In Bosnia and Herzegovina’s second-largest city, Banja Luka, district energy—a network • Low-emission growth, where we of underground pipes that carry hot or cold support countries to increase energy water to multiple buildings—keeps around efficiency, access clean energy 20,000 residents warm when winter bites hard. finance, and reduce their emissions But the 35-year-old system has relied on fuel of greenhouse gases and other oil to power its creaky and inefficient boilers. pollutants by moving to renewable The Initiative teamed up with the city, the energy. UN Environment-hosted Climate Technology • REDD+, where we enable countries Centre and Network and the European Bank for to capitalize on investments that Reconstruction and Development, to change reduce greenhouse gas emissions this.