Rapid change in the Arctic resulting from climate change is threatening ecosystems and providing new development opportunities – including easier access to oil, gas and minerals. The UNEP Year Book 2013 shows that changes in the Arctic will have consequences far beyond this fragile region and that they require an urgent international response.

The 2012 Annual Report details UNEP’s wide-ranging activities in what proved to be the most momentous year in the organizations history. At Rio+20, Heads of State and governments decided to strengthen and upgrade UNEP; this was followed by the adoption of a resolution at the 67th session of the UN General Assembly later in the year that granted UNEP universal membership and called for increased resources.

The UNEP Year Book 2012 examines emerging environmental issues and policy-relevant developments, while providing an overview of the latest trends based on key environmental indicators.

In March 2011, a massive earthquale off the north-east coast of Japan triggered a tsunami rhat created an unprecedented volume of debris. The debris management operation which is currently ongoing along the Tohoku coast is the largest of its kind in the world. In order to share international experiences in disaster debris management and to document the lessons from the Japanese experience, a UNEP international expert team visited the Tohoku area in early 2012.

The Business Case for a Green Economy, complements and extends the UNEP Green Economy Report.¹ Written for a corporate audience, it illuminates and clarifies the business benefits to companies that pro-actively participate in – perhaps even lead – the transition to a resource efficient and Green Economy.

This Annual Report shows the full range of UNEP’s work for environment and development. It also illuminates how the UN system as a whole is increasingly Delivering as One with respect to sustainability. Anyone interested in making green economy and sustainability principles an integral part of their decision making will fi nd this volume rich in theory and practice.

Over-exploitation of environment and natural resources is becoming increasingly widespread in the modern world. To combat this, environmental economists have attempted to value such resources in order to ensure that they are given due recognition in any ex ante appraisal, or ex post evaluation of projects or policies; and also to ensure that optimal levels of consumption are determined for the resource.

Environmental Impact Assessment in Practice is concerned with the process of environmental impact assessment (EIA). In other words, it is a comprehensive analysis of the assessment of the potential environmental impacts of proposed very large projects and complex developments.
Its logical structure mirrors the orderly and thorough processes required of EIA.

Extensively revised and expanded in this second edition, Environmental Ethics: What Really Matters, What Really Works examines morality from an environmental perspective. Featuring seventy-one accessible selections--from classic articles to examples of cutting-edge original research--it addresses both theory and practice. Asking what really matters, the first section of the book explores the abstract ideas of human value and value in nature.

The global climate changes that led to the expansion and contraction of high latitude ice sheets during the Quaternary period were associated with equally dramatic changes in tropical environments. These included shifts in vegetation zones, changes in the hydrology and ecology of lakes and rivers, and fluctuations in the size of mountain glaciers and sandy deserts. Until recently it was thought that such changes were triggered by fluctuations in the distribution of polar ice cover.

UNEP Evaluation of 2010 World Cups Green Performance Shows South Africa Successes and Way Forward for Brazil. The actual footprint was 1.65 million Tonnes of CO2 equivalent, compared to a projection of 2.64 million. 

UNEP worked with the South African government through the Green Goal 2010 project to promote initiatives such as cutting the tournament’s carbon footprint, reducing waste and water use, and conserving and enhancing biodiversity. Such initiatives are set to be pushed to the next level in Brazil with the aim of creating truly green events.

The environmental impact of development projects is currently studied and mitigated from two distinct perspectives: before and after project implementation, with environmental impact assessment (EIA) and environmental management systems (EMS) being the main instruments on the respective sides.