Bibliothèque

This technical document provides a comprehensive, scientifically credible, policy-relevant and up-to-date assessment of, and outlook for, the state of the global environment. Environment for development is the GEO-4 underlying theme. The report pays special attention to the role and impact of the environment on human well-being as well as to the use of environmental valuation as a tool for decision-making. It also shows that environmental degradation is diminishing the potential for sustainable development. Policies for action are highlighted to facilitate alternative development paths.

This technical document outlines current approaches to applying social and environmental standards and principles, and highlights current REDD+ safeguard initiatives from the  Forest and Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), UN-REDD and REDD+ Social and Environmental Standards, including lessons learned and anticipated challenges to safeguards application. 

This technical document discusses benefit-sharing approaches associated with payments for ecosystem services, participatory forest management, and forest concession revenue sharing arrangements. The publication also assesses the ability of these policy approaches to address drivers of deforestation, and summarizes challenges and lessons learned from REDD+ benefit sharing planning to date.

This analytical report aims to help decision makers improve the effectiveness of domestic REDD+ decision-making processes by learning from other partners’ experiences and beginning to identify best practices. It includes: a) a preliminary set of common terms relating to stakeholder participation; b) a framework for categorizing and describing different types of stakeholder engagement processes necessary to facilitate sharing of relevant experiences; c) a discussion of the types of information that seem most relevant for practitioners to share; and d) next steps for developing a comprehensive and sustained approach to sharing information and identifying good practices.

This manual consists of a press kit designed to help journalists better understand the global postal sector, its major players and its environmental activities. The postal sector is a major industry, employing more than 5 million people and operating thousands of buildings and vehicles around the world. The UPU is committed to protecting the environment and has had a group working on environmental issues since 1994. The group’s activities focus on sharing knowledge, resources and best practices among member countries.

This activity report introduces UPU’s activities aimed at promoting sustainable development and fighting climate change, in accordance with its world postal strategy for 2009-2012. In particular, the group “Environment and Sustainable Development” has undertaken many activities to better share knowledge, resources and best practices among member countries. In addition, sub-groups are studying how the postal sector could better utilize renewable energies and how to promote the use of alternative vehicles for mail delivery.

This manual covers thirteen major adaptation technologies that reduce impacts of coastal erosion and flooding due to climate change. For each technology, the authors present a technology description, its advantages and disadvantages, costs and benefits, institutional organisation requirements and detailed examples about its application. This guidebook is intended to be a practical tool for use by coastal zone managers in developing countries. The aim is to provide best practice guidance and assist these managers in assessing their evolving adaptation needs and help them to prepare action plans for adapting to climate change in the coastal zone.

This activity report provides an overview of UNEP’s activities in 2009 carried out by the organization as it follows its mandate to provide environmental leadership and promote sustainable development. Taking the theme of « Seizing the Green Opportunity », the report provides an overview of UNEP’s activities in 2009 through the green economy lens. Highlights of the year include the emergence of green growth initiatives around the world, the innovative approaches to address climate change and ecosystem loss, and the renewed efforts to strengthen international environmental governance.

This analytical report assesses the advantages and disadvantages of using different types of publicly backed guarantee structures at various stages of product and technology innovation and deployment. The study examines the experience of public financing agencies and relevant lessons learned. The main intended audience includes programme designers and implementers, as well as programme strategists and policy-makers. 

This activity report presents activities, progress and achievements of the United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (UN-REDD) in 2009. In March 2009, the UN-REDD Programme launched the initial readiness process in 9 pilot countries. By the end of the same year a total of US$24 million had been approved by the Policy Board for quick start action for country programmes to prepare national REDD+ strategies, engage stakeholders and develop measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) systems. At the global level, the UN-REDD Programme made a number of significant contributions in the area of  MRV, engagement of indigenous peoples and civil society in REDD+ activities, promotion of the multiple benefits of forests, and strengthening interagency collaboration.

This technical document aims to present the impacts of climate change upon urban water, particularly upon the performance of the urban water supply, wastewater and storm water infrastructure, through compiling existing studies on climate change and water resources. This vulnerability assessment of urban water resources is designed to help identifying urban communities who will be most affected by climate change and, as a long term plan, to draw strategic views on how water utilities can be planned properly to cope with the likely changes. The findings of this vulnerability assessment can be used to develop Integrated Urban Water Management planning in the country.

This activity report introduces the new headquarters of both the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UNHABITAT) in Nairobi, presenting it as a a sustainable building showcase. With 6,000 square metres of solar panels, energy saving lighting, natural ventilation systems and other green features, the office is designed to generate as much electricity as its 1,200 occupants consume. Given that the building sector is the single largest contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions with one third of global energy use taking place in offices and homes, the design and construction of new buildings – and the refitting of existing ones – represents one of the key, low cost ways of combating climate.

This activity report presents examples where the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has been used in particularly successful ways to mobilise financial resources for carbon-reduction projects, while promoting sustainability in local communities in different countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. These examples of local best practice serve as a repository of what has worked well in the past and consequently serve to encourage financiers, project developers and regulators to continue harnessing CDM potentials in the future. At the same time, this study aims to provide a first and broad introduction to the CDM to commercial banks in the region not yet familiar with it.

This analytical report considers adaptation from the viewpoint of the finance sector. It describes some of the current products and services and other innovative approaches used by the finance sector to tackle climate change, such as weather derivatives and natural catastrophe bonds. However, it notices that many potential markets that could have a major impact, promote adaptation and reduce vulnerability, such as micro-finance and insurance, are not wholly commercially viable as yet, and therefore require a public-private partnership approach to provide the seed capital and skills required.

This analytical report discusses the most recent studies on the economics and cost of climate change, and the investment required for mitigation and adaptation. It highlights the crucial role played by the finance sector due to its influence in directing investment and financial flows. It also reviews what leading financial institutions are already doing to address the climate problem and what should be done to extend and deepen those actions across the entire sector. Finally, the document emphasizes the crucial role of the policy making community in setting up the regulatory frameworks that will provide the necessary long-term investment horizons and pave the way for further large-scale investment towards a low carbon economy.

This technical document includes a survey exploring how financial institutions are dealing with the energy efficiency concept and what the reasons are for a lack of dynamism in this field. It provides an evidence base that highlights the steps that private as well as public lenders and policy-makers can take to better exploit the vast potentials of energy efficiency in an increasingly energy- and carbon-constrained world.

This analytical report includes the executive summary of the report « Financing a Global Deal on Climate Change ». This focuses on the priorities identified by UNEP FI to mobilise the skills and resources of the banking, investment and insurance sectors behind an effective, efficient and equitable global deal on climate change at COP15 in Copenhagen. It also addresses the types of decisions that governments could take in Copenhagen to stimulate financial involvement.

This policy document presents an investor statement formalising the private sector’s requirement for a strong, binding framework to succeed the Kyoto Protocol. It stresses that clear, credible long-term policies are critical for investors to integrate climate change considerations into their decision-making processes and to support investment flows into a low-carbon economy and into measures for adaptation. It also argues that a timely post-2012 climate change agreement involving all countries and containing appropriate long- and medium-term emission reduction targets is essential to supporting investor confidence. 

This analytical report focuses on the kinds of public finance mechanisms (PFMs) needed to incentivise and scale up private sector investment. It provides an evidence base of what design features have made such mechanisms work successfully in the past. It further suggests how, with which design elements and through which institutional frameworks and mechanisms PFMs at international level could best be deployed to leverage private investment in a scale needed for the creation of a low-carbon economy.

This statement by the investment community highlights a number of critical measures that it recommends policymakers to take to stimulate investment in a low-carbon economy. These measures include emission reduction targets, policies that put an effective price on carbon, energy and transportation policies, financing mechanisms, measures and financing to support adaptation, and corporate disclosure policies.