Although 2023 \u00a0has been a hard one for the planet, there were remarkable environmental moments and studies to give hope for a sustainable future.<\/p>\n
The Earth sweltered under\u00a0record heat<\/a>, nature continued its\u00a0precipitous decline<\/a>\u00a0and pollution continued to claim\u00a0millions of lives<\/a>.<\/p>\n But amid all that, there is reason for hope, say those on the frontlines of the effort to create a more sustainable world.<\/p>\n In 2023, countries came together in unprecedented ways to tackle the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste. This environmental multilateralism led to landmark pacts to end chemical pollution and transition the world away from fossil fuels, among a host of other milestones, many of which were supported by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).<\/p>\n 2023 witnessed major environmental moments affecting the future of the planet.<\/p>\n Study finds ozone layer “on track” for recovery<\/strong><\/p>\n The ozone layer, which protects the Earth from ultraviolet radiation, is on track to recover within the next four decades, revealed\u00a0a report<\/a>\u00a0from several scientific organizations, including UNEP. The\u00a0Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion \u2013 2022<\/em>\u00a0found the planet\u2019s sun shield could reach 1980 values over Antarctica by 2066 and over the Arctic by 2045.<\/p>\n Experts attributed the rebound to the\u00a0Montreal Protocol<\/a>, a planet-wide agreement adopted in 1987 to phase out many ozone-depleting chemicals. A 2016 amendment is also helping to rein in a series of powerful greenhouse gases and could avoid up to 0.5\u00b0C of global warming by 2100, the report found.<\/p>\n Fight for climate justice gains steam<\/strong><\/p>\n The United Nations General Assembly adopted\u00a0a resolution<\/a>\u00a0that many advocates hailed as an important step in the campaign for climate justice.<\/p>\n Spearheaded by the\u00a0cyclone-wracked nation of Vanuatu<\/a>,\u00a0the resolution asks the International Court of Justice for an opinion on whether countries have a legal duty to address climate change and what the legal consequences of climate inaction could be. Experts say the court\u2019s opinion, which is pending, would not be legally binding but would carry moral authority and\u00a0some legal weight<\/a>.<\/p>\n The resolution came as a growing number of people around the world turned to courts to compel governments and businesses to act on climate change. A\u00a0UNEP study<\/a>, released later in the year, found climate-related lawsuits have more than doubled since 2017.<\/p>\n Nations band together to protect freshwater sources<\/strong><\/p>\n UNEP and several partners launched the\u00a0Freshwater Challenge<\/a>, which aims to safeguard and revive 300,000km of rivers and 350 million hectares of wetlands around the world by 2030. That would make it\u00a0the largest<\/a>\u00a0wetland and river restoration effort in history. Some 43 nations joined the push in 2023, including many at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), whose presidency cited the Freshwater Challenge as a key outcome of the summit. Sources of freshwater are under increasing pressure from climate change, pollution and other stressors. \u00a0One-third<\/a>\u00a0of the world\u2019s wetlands have been lost over the past 50 years, while rivers and lakes are the most degraded ecosystems in the world.<\/p>\n World marks inaugural International Day of Zero Waste<\/strong><\/p>\n Countries around the world celebrated the first\u00a0International Day of Zero Waste<\/a>, a global call for humanity to better manage waste and build more circular economies.<\/p>\n The day was led by UNEP and UN Habitat with support from T\u00fcrkiye, and featured an address from UN Secretary General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres. \u201cHumanity is treating our planet like a garbage dump,\u201d\u00a0he warned<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s time to fight back and launch a war on waste.\u201d<\/p>\n More than\u00a02 billion tons<\/a>\u00a0of municipal solid waste is generated annually, of which 45 per cent is mismanaged. Up to\u00a04 billion people<\/a>\u00a0lack access to controlled waste disposal facilities.<\/p>\n Creative solutions to plastic pollution abound at\u00a0World Environment Day<\/strong><\/p>\n UNEP-led\u00a0World Environment Day<\/a>, celebrated on 5 June, showcased to the world the scale of the plastic pollution crisis while highlighting a bevy of potential solutions. Several governments made firm commitments on the day, with host C\u00f4te d’Ivoire unveiling a new environmental code to fight plastic pollution and the Kyrgyz Republic announcing it will begin to transition away from some plastic products. The day\u00a0grabbed the globe\u2019s attention<\/a>; it was the top-trending hashtag on Twitter and related content was seen more than 300 million times across social media.<\/p>\n Historic “high seas” treaty throws a lifeline to marine biodiversity<\/strong><\/p>\n The United Nations formally adopted\u00a0a pact<\/a>\u00a0that extends for the first time environmental protections to two-thirds of the ocean that lie beyond national jurisdictions.<\/p>\n The so-called \u201chigh seas treaty\u201d offers an updated framework to\u00a0The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea<\/a>\u00a0that came into force in 1994. The world\u2019s oceans, which play a vital role in everything from the global economy to regulating the climate, are laboring under climate change,\u00a0biodiversity loss and pollution.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have pumped new life and hope to give the ocean a fighting chance\u201d, Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, told countries as the measure was adopted.<\/p>\n Global plastics instrument takes crucial step forward<\/strong><\/p>\n The\u00a0Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution<\/a>, hosted by UNEP, released a zero draft of a legally binding global instrument to end plastic pollution. The draft, which covers the full lifecycle of plastic, was reviewed during the\u00a0third session<\/a>\u00a0(INC-3) in Nairobi, Kenya in November 2023. The talks in Nairobi followed a\u00a0second session<\/a>\u00a0in Paris, France in June 2023. The INC sessions mark a key step in the effort to finalize a planet-wide agreement by the end of 2024.<\/p>\n Every year, humanity produces around 430 million metric tons of plastic \u2013 about the same weight as 71 million African elephants \u2013 and much of that is contained in single-use products that quickly become waste, polluting land, sea and air.<\/p>\n Landmark chemicals accord takes aim at a range of toxic substances<\/strong><\/p>\n The world agreed to the\u00a0Global Framework on Chemicals<\/a>, a historic deal to protect people and the environment from chemical pollution, which causes an\u00a0estimated 2 million deaths<\/a>\u00a0a year. The agreement includes 28 targets which, among other things, call for the phasing out of highly hazardous pesticides and a crackdown on the trafficking of illegal chemicals.<\/p>\n The adoption of the new framework recognizes pollution and waste as the global crisis that it is, putting it on par with climate change and nature loss, which already have frameworks in place. UNEP will manage a dedicated trust fund in support of the framework. Germany has committed 20 million euros to the fund, with France, The Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland also contributing.<\/p>\n Africa Climate Week showcases home-grown solutions to climate crisis<\/strong><\/p>\n UNEP and partners organized\u00a0Africa Climate Week<\/a>\u00a0alongside the first\u00a0Africa Climate Summit<\/a>, which brought more than 10,000 people, including 20 heads of state, to Nairobi, Kenya. The gathering, which took place against the backdrop of some of the worst droughts and floods ever to hit the continent, emphasized that Africa can drive solutions to the climate crisis. It was also a chance for leaders to form a consensus around key issues ahead of COP28. \u201cWe aim to weave a single, resounding African voice that will carry the outcomes \u2026 to COP28 and beyond,\u201d\u00a0said Kenyan President William Ruto<\/a>.<\/p>\n Global pact to end mercury pollution celebrates a decade in action<\/strong><\/p>\n October ,2023, marked the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the\u00a0Minamata Convention<\/a>, a deal that has been hailed as a triumph of international diplomacy. Some\u00a0147 parties<\/a>\u00a0have ratified the agreement, which calls for countries to phase out mercury use in products, ban the opening of new mercury mines and limit the emission of mercury into the environment.<\/p>\n Every year, as much as\u00a09,000 tons of mercury<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 a toxic substance often used in small-scale gold mining \u2013 are released into the atmosphere, in water and on land. As the Minamata Convention enters its second decade, experts are buoyed by the progress of recent years. The trade in mercury has slowed, manufacturers have begun finding alternatives to mercury in a range of products and public awareness about the dangers of mercury has grown.<\/p>\n UNEP announces the winners of its highest environmental award<\/strong><\/p>\n UNEP<\/a> announced the five winners of the 2023\u00a0Champions of the Earth<\/a>\u00a0award, the UN\u2019s highest environmental honor.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s awards honored innovators and initiatives for their cutting-edge work in tackling\u00a0plastic pollution<\/a>. This followed the 2022 historic resolution at the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) in Nairobi to\u00a0End Plastic Pollution<\/a>\u00a0and forge an international legally binding agreement by 2024.<\/p>\n The Champions of the Earth award recognizes outstanding leaders from government, civil society and the private sector for their transformative impact on the environment in four categories:\u00a0Policy Leadership<\/a>,\u00a0Inspiration and Action<\/a>,\u00a0Entrepreneurial Vision<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Science and Innovation<\/a>.<\/p>\n Three UNEP-supported reports on climate crisis<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong>A trio of UNEP-supported reports brought into sharp focus the scale of the climate crisis and offered policymakers a suite of potential solutions.<\/p>\n UNEP\u2019s\u00a0Adaptation Gap Report<\/em><\/a>\u00a0found developing countries alone need to devote $215 billion to $387 billion a year to contend with extreme weather, rising seas and other climatic upheaval. Spending now is just a fraction of that.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, UNEP\u2019s\u00a0Emissions Gap Report<\/em><\/a>\u00a0revealed that based on current climate-related pledges by governments, the Earth is on pace to warm by between 2.5\u00b0C and 2.9\u00b0C this century, well above the goals of the\u00a0Paris Agreement<\/a>. To keep warming below 1.5\u00b0C, a key Paris target, the world will need to slash its greenhouse gas emissions by 42 per cent by 2030.<\/p>\n As well, the\u00a0Production Gap Report<\/em><\/a>, produced by UNEP and partners, found states were planning to produce more than twice as much fossil fuel as would be consistent with limiting warming to 1.5\u00b0C.<\/p>\n One year into the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework<\/strong><\/p>\n It has been a year since the\u00a0Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework<\/a>\u00a0(GBF) was successfully adopted in Montreal, Canada in December 2022.<\/p>\n The framework included concrete actions to halt and reverse the loss of nature, including protecting 30 per cent of the planet and restoring 30 per cent of degraded ecosystems.<\/p>\n To improve governance and accountability for nature, UNEP and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) supported 138 countries to align their national biodiversity policies, targets and monitoring frameworks with the GBF. This is a critical step to the agreement\u2019s success.<\/p>\n In September, UNEP and partners launched the\u00a0National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans Accelerator Partnership<\/a>, which provides technical support to accelerate implementation of the framework. UNEP also trained officials from 50 countries to use\u00a0a data reporting tool<\/a>, which helps streamline reporting to biodiversity-related conventions.<\/p>\n COP28 with key goal of ending fossil fuel era<\/strong><\/p>\n On 12 December, the\u00a0UN Climate Change Conference<\/a>\u00a0(COP28) came to a close with a historic declaration as negotiators from nearly 200 Parties came together with a decision to ratchet up climate action before the end of the decade with the overarching aim to keep the global temperature limit of 1.5\u00b0C within reach while rapidly ramping up production of renewable energy.<\/p>\n While UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen said the deal \u201cis not perfect\u201d she\u00a0expressed cautious optimism<\/a>. \u201cThe world is no longer denying our harmful addiction to fossil fuels. We know what needs to be done.\u201d<\/p>\n