UNEP, UNECE sign deal to strengthen partnership on green economy, sustainable development

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday to reinforce their collaboration on environmental protection, supporting the shift to a green economy, and promoting sustainable development.

The agreement was to allow the two organizations to provide coherent assistance to members on a range of topics, from air quality improvement, to boosting cooperation on environmental governance, to a shift to a green economy.

"This timely partnership with the UNECE, just months ahead of the adoption of a new set of sustainable development goals, will bring greater strength and coherence to our work, which aims to support governments in their efforts to better manage shared natural resources and integrate environmental sustainability and resource efficiency into all aspects of development planning and policy implementation," said Achim Steiner, executive director of the UNEP.

UNECE Executive Secretary Christian Friis Bach said: "UNECE and UNEP already work very well together in Europe and Central Asia on supporting the transition to the green economy by helping member states enshrine sustainability across all sectors of the economy and all activities, from education to production and consumption."

"This cooperation will also reinforce our capacity to help member states implement and monitor the expected sustainable development goals, in particular by applying the methodology of environmental performance reviews," he added.

The agreement foresaw the cooperation framework between the two organizations could be further extended to other sectors, in particular in the fields of energy, forests, housing and transport. Endit