U.N.-led transfer of oil averts disaster off Yemen's Red Sea coast
The ship-to-ship transfer extracted as much of the 1.14 million barrels of oil as possible, leaving under 2% aboard.
U.N. Environment (UNEP)
Enjoy our Free+ stories and our weekly newsletter
Start your free accessAlready have an account? Log in
Global climate litigation to force action more than doubles in 5 years
As climate litigation increases, the body of legal precedent grows, forming an increasingly well-defined field of law.
U.N. starts unloading oil from Yemen tanker to prevent disaster
Without U.N. intervention, the tanker could have released as much as four times the oil spilled by the Exxon Valdez in 1989.
Paris summit approves drafting global plastic pollution treaty
The summit ended with support for creating a "zero draft" treaty ahead of the next negotiations at Nairobi in November.
Talks open on plastics treaty to defuse environmental 'time bomb'
About 69% of all the plastics produced, mainly through fossil fuel burning, are used just once or twice before they are thrown away. About 22% is mismanaged. Just 9% is recycled.
U.N. proposes global 'roadmap' to 80% cut in plastic pollution by 2040
The estimated annual social and environmental costs of plastic pollution range from US$300 billion to $US1.5 trillion.
Global talks kick off on hazardous chemicals and waste management
Virtually all the world's nations are negotiating proposals under the legally binding Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions to limit toxic chemicals, pollutants and wastes.
U.N. panel prepares last report of series to shape climate policy
The head of the U.N.'s Nobel Prize-winning panel of climate experts called for quick action because "make no mistake, inaction and delays are not listed as options."
U.N. agrees to buy $55M crude carrier for removing stranded oil
The stranded supertanker FSO Safer has been moored off the coast of Yemen – toward the end of a pipeline to the oil and gas fields near Marib city – and nearly sank in 2020.
Pollution, climate change feed drug-resistant 'superbugs'
Fed by pollution and climate change, strains of bacteria immune to all known antibiotics may become a major cause of death by mid-century, says the U.N. environment agency.
Study shows efforts to restore Earth's depleted ozone layer are 'on track'
If the policies and trends continue the ozone layer is expected to recover to 1980 values – before the appearance of the ozone hole – by around 2066 over the Antarctic, and by 2045 over the Arctic and 2040 for the rest of the world.
Biodiversity summit poses call to act, decade of protections on line
UNEP's chief describes the summit as an opportunity to 'secure our life-support system, to make peace with nature.'
Sustainable food cold chain key to fighting waste and climate change
Millions of vaccine doses a year and nearly a third of all food produced is lost or wasted, according to new estimates.
High stakes for COP27 summit as climate becomes a health crisis too
Drought, floods, disease outbreaks and a global food crisis add pressure for real action at the U.N. climate summit in Egypt.
U.N. declares healthy environment a human right
A second vote in the United Nations solidifies international recognition that everyone's access to a clean and healthy environment is a fundamental right.
Nations approve first guidelines for valuing nature
The IPBES guidelines could prod decision-making beyond just politics and economics to deal with our massive loss of species and rising temperatures.