UN and other bodies based in Geneva have signalled their readiness to help carry out the Paris Agreement on the ground.

At a conference titled ‘From COP21 to COP22, International Geneva’s mobilization continues,’ the World Health Organisation (WHO), International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), International Organisation for Migration and others based in the Swiss city spelled out how they planned to help countries deliver on the deal.

The event was hosted by the Permanent Missions of France and Morocco on 19 January. Some 195 countries agreed to the first ever legally-binding climate deal in Paris last December and pledged to set more ambitious targets every five years. The agreement is due to enter into force in 2020.

During the conference, Ms Elisabeth Laurin, Permanent Representative of France; and Mr Mohamed Auajjar - that of Morocco - hailed the historical importance of the Paris Agreement while highlighting the role played by the previous COP held in Lima in building momentum.

“UNDP’s priorities on climate change are now to help achieve a clear roadmap on financing, improve monitoring and transparency and ensure that pledges made by countries are put into practice,” the body’s Administrator Helen Clark revealed in a panel session moderated by UNEP’s Regional Director Jan Dusik.

The Paris Agreement was meanwhile described as the WHO’s “most powerful health policy” by Dr Maria Neira, the organisation’s Director of Public Health and the Environment, confirming her readiness to help countries carry out actions that mitigate climate change.

Halting deforestation should be a priority in order to do so, stressed IUCN Director General Ms Inger Andersen. Ecosystems and seasons can already be seen to be changing due to climate change, she warned.

Ms Laura Thompson, IOM Deputy Director General, meanwhile said that her organisation’s priority would be to prevent forced migration due to climate change, to help environmental migrants and facilitate migration that is unavoidable. Climate change will involve “major” changes to employment patterns, stressed Mr Stephen Pursey, Director of Multilateral Cooperation for the International Labor Organisation. Further research on this is needed together with greater social protection and dialogue, he argued.

The Paris Agreement opens for signature on 22 April in New York. The next edition of the COP talks will take place in Marrakesh in November and will address adaptation, capacity building and technology transfer in order to help ensure the commitments made in Paris become a reality.

For further details please contact diana.rizzolio@unep.org

Following the historic climate deal agreed at COP 21 in Paris, UNEP and the UK Government, through the Department for International Development, are now collaborating on a new £10 million four-year climate change adaptation programme for Sudan.

Adapt for Environment and Climate Resilience in Sudan or ‘ADAPT!’ aims to respond to the call by world leaders in Paris to collectively address the urgent challenges posed by climate change - particularly in countries expected to be hit hardest.

Sudan, considered a least developed country, is on the frontline when it comes to the likely impacts of climate change. Temperatures are expected to rise, rainfall will become more unpredictable, droughts and floods will become more severe, and precious water resources will become ever more stretched. Sudan also faces structural challenges, including weak environmental governance following decades of conflict.

Working in close partnership with Government Ministries, UN, agencies, NGOs, academia and donors, ADAPT aims to increase climate resilience and environmental management in Sudan in several ways. Firstly, by integrating best practice on climate and environmental issues into project delivery. Secondly, by deepening and broadening the knowledge and evidence base to promote climate smart planning, and finally by improving policy processes and strategic planning.

The programme will support the African country to take forward its COP21 Intended Nationally Determined Contributions commitment and attract global climate funds to support adaptation.

By leveraging strategic partnerships and ensuring that responses are underpinned by sound science and best practices, ADAPT will play an important role in helping the people of Sudan cope with the inevitable environmental, political, economic and social stresses caused by climate change.

To find out more please click here, follow us on Facebook or email sophie.brown@unep.org

UNEP and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) launched the first Natural Infrastructure Training Course geared for business at the COP21 climate talks.

The course makes a business case for companies to invest in natural infrastructure solutions and provides tools for decision-making within companies. Through case studies and decision support tools, firms learn about natural infrastructure options based on user needs, for instance using wetlands for treating waste water or forests as natural buffers against coastal storms or landslides.

The course is part of the online Natural Infrastructure for Business Platform (NI4Biz), which provides key materials to be used for the training, including case studies generated by the WBCSD member companies and tools to guide business decision-making.

Both the Training Course and the Business Platform will contribute to WBCSD’s Natural Infrastructure Agenda, whose ultimate objective is to ensure that “by 2020, companies systematically assess natural infrastructure options when investing in new sites or projects, thereby contributing to the protection, restoration and creation of new ecosystems”.

The NI4Biz Platform and the Training Course was launched on 10 December at the Global Landscapes Forum in Paris by Mr Peter Bakker, President and CEO of WBCSD. He was joined by UNEP Executive Director Mr Achim Steiner. The training will be delivered to WBCSD member companies for the first time in April 2016.

Find out more about UNEP’s work in the field of Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction by clicking here or write to sophie.brown@unep.org

UNEP has opened two new air monitoring stations in Bosnia Herzegovina and brought two existing ones back to full function, in a move designed to help the country fight the silent killer of air pollution.

The two new stations are located in the cities of Prijedor and Gorazde. The locations were chosen by the country's Federal Hydro-meteorological Institute and the Republic Hydro-meteorological Service of the Republika Srpska so as to provide continuous monitoring in both urban and sub-urban environments.

The new and refurbished stations mean that accurate data will be available to monitor climate changes and announce pollution alerts to the general public. The country will also be able to gauge the impact of policy measures to improve air quality.

The move was announced at an event organised by UNEP with the Bosnian Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations at the country's Parliamentary Assembly on 19 January.

“These new devices form part of the first comprehensive network of air quality monitoring stations in Bosnia and Herzegovina and offer a real example of how human health and environment are intrinsically linked,” said Jan Dusik, Director of UNEP’s Regional Office for Europe.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is now set to monitor climate and air quality in line with national and EU law after signing a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the bloc last year.

Together with policy measures, the move will significantly help the country and prevent further illnesses and deaths from outdoor pollution, which is estimated to have caused over 3500 premature deaths in the country during 2014.

For more information please click here or write to amina.omicevic@unep.org