All publications and documents

In 1972, the UN General Assembly designated 5 June as World Environment Day (WED). The first celebration, under the slogan “Only One Earth” took place in 1973. In the following years, WED has developed as a platform to raise awareness on the problems facing our environment such as air pollution, plastic pollution, illegal wildlife trade, sustainable consumption, sea-level increase, and food…

📚 Facts and figures • Only 9 per cent of plastic globally is recycled and much of the plastic used cannot be recycled at all. Current recycling systems are not capable of recycling the huge volume of plastic produced, with 46 per cent of all plastic landfilled every year. A life-cycle approach to plastics is needed which looks at everything from extraction of raw resources to product…

Plastics are accumulating in the world’s soils at a worrying rate, according to a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The 29th edition of UNEP’s Foresight Brief highlights how plastics used extensively in farming – from plastic coated plastic fertilizers to mulch film – are contaminating the soil and potentially threatening food security. Microplastics…

Plastic is one of the most enduring materials man has created. Nowadays, we all know that it can take hundreds of years for plastic to degrade, and research is showing that it is possible that it does not even fully degrade, but becomes what we call microplastic. Microplastics are tiny particles of plastic that can be eaten by marine animals and end up in their bodies and tissues,…

The world’s land — including its mountains, hills, plateaus and plains — provides vital services, such as oxygen, food and water, that are essential for life. Land is also home to much of the world’s biodiversity. Land “plays a key role in the climate system” as an essential carbon sink because its surfaces, such as forests, regulate the planet’s temperature and help to store carbon…

Also available in Spanish, French and Arabic. Climate change is the defining issue of our times. Every day, more and more people are getting involved in climate action. Veterans in the field are already familiar with the many terms and concepts related to climate change. But if you are new to the discussion, it can be quite challenging to grasp everything at once. …