A Green Economy, in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication, is one of the two central themes of Rio+20. It underlines that it is in the interests of all nations - developed and developing and state or market-led - to begin reducing humanity's planetary impact in ways that reflect national circumstances. This summary report by UNEP's International Resource Panel is an important part of this overall discourse and direction. It brings empirical evidence to bear on the levels of natural resources being consumed by humanity and the likely consumption levels if past trends are mirrored into the future.

This publication provides recommendations to develop efficient sustainable lifestyles policies and initiatives based on the Global Survey on Sustainable Lifestyles (GSSL).

“With global action and positive momentum towards improving access to safe water and sanitation, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), and the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation (UNSGAB), in partnership with the members of UN Water have collaborated to bring together their collective experience and expertise to bear on the challenges posed by illegal and unregulated wastewater.

This report is a contribution to the UN's International Year of Biodiversity and is a complement of the UNEP-hosted Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) which is bringing visibility to the wealth of the world's natural capital.

This new UNEP Report focuses on the global trends in sustainable energy development, covering both the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors. This report shows that in spite of the global economic downturn, investment in sustainable energy is still strong.

The fisheries sector is in crisis. Inappropriate subsidies to the fishing industry are a key factor responsible for worldwide fisheries depletion, overcapitalization and ecosystem degradation.

The United Nations organisations are responsible for an impressive number of meetings each year, ranging from small meetings of 10 people, up to large events with several thousand participants. These meetings take place in all parts of the world and in regions varying greatly in terms of environmental priorities, experience and infrastructure.

A new rapid response assessment report released by UNEP warns that up to 25% of the world's food production may become lost due to environmental breakdown by 2050 unless action is taken. The report provides the first summary by the UN of how climate change, water stress, invasive pests and land degradation may impact world food prices and life on the planet plus how we may be able to feed the world in a more sustainable manner.

UNEP, with the support of the UK Government, is following up a key recommendation of the UN Marrakech Process meeting in Costa Rica (2005) to develop International Guideli nes for Developing, Implementing and Monitoring National Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP). The Guidelines are informed by earlier work to develop national action plans on SCP in Asia (UNEP 2005). Experts from the project's advisory group have also provided significant inputs.

This report presents the financial perspective, or ‘dollar view’, of the current state of play in sustainable energy development. The analysis in this report consists of actual data on the different types of capital fl ows and their movement over time, combined with analysis of regional and sectoral trends. This information is intended to be a strategic tool for understanding the status of the clean energy sector’s development and for weighing future public and private commitments to the sector.

This publication describes what D4S (Design for Sustainability) is and what might motivate companies to adopt it. The backbone of the publication is composed of the three practical, step-by-step approaches to execute a D4S project : needs assessment, redesign and benchmarking. Clear reference information and case studies that can support the project are also provided.