United Nations Environment Programme
Also called: UNEP · Topic: Climate Change: Causes, Evidence and the Global Response · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the UN body that leads the world's work on the environment. It was set up in 1972 after the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment, and its headquarters is in Nairobi, Kenya. It does not make binding laws. It studies the state of the environment, warns governments about problems and helps countries agree on action. In 1988, UNEP and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) together set up the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), which assesses climate science for governments.
Example
UNEP also studies environmental damage after wars. On 23 September 2025 it released its second assessment of the Gaza Strip, on the eastern Mediterranean coast. Its staff could not enter Gaza, so it used satellite images. It found about 61 million tonnes of debris, no working sewage treatment and the loss of about 97% of tree crops.
Don't confuse with
- UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change): a treaty signed in 1992, with its secretariat in Bonn and a yearly meeting of countries called the COP. UNEP is a UN body, not a treaty.
- IPCC: assesses only climate science. UNEP covers the whole environment and was one of the two bodies that founded the IPCC.