United Nations (UN)
High-Level Expert Group on Net Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities
UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance
CBD
· Full listing for the Convention on Biological Diversity is at the top of the Biodiplomacy page.
FAO
UN Food & Agriculture Organization homepage
· Also see:
· FAO @ Forest institutions
· FAO @ Freshwater institutions
· FAO @ Fisheries institutions
Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA)
Committee on World Food Security
High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition
Voluntary Guidelines on Land Tenure
· Full title: Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land,
Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT)
International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA)
· also known as the Farmers’ Rights Treaty or Seed Treaty
Land Cover Classification System (LCCS)
HLPF
High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development homepage
IFAD
International Fund for Agricultural Development
IOM
UN International Organization for Migration homepage
Environmental Migration Portal
· Database on the current environmental refugee crises, recent studies published by relevant
organizations, profiles on the environmental refugee activity in specific countries, and
policy briefs, explanations, and general information.
UNCTAD
UN Conference on Trade and Development homepage
Trade, environment, climate change & sustainable development
UN Dag Hammarskjöld Library
UNDESA
UN Department of Economic & Social Affairs homepage
UNDP
UNDRR
UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction homepage
UNEMG
Environment Management Group homepage
· “...a system-wide coordination body on environment and human settlements. It was
established in 2001 pursuant to the General Assembly resolution 53/242 in July 1999.”
UNESCO
UN Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization homepage
Man and the Biopshere (MAB) Programme (UNESCO)
World Network of Biosphere Reserves
World Heritage Convention & Centre (UNESCO)
Centre for Capacity, Development, Sustainability, and Societal Change
International Centre for Sustainable Rural Communities (ICSRC)
· Apparently never fully launched.
Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape
Small Island Developing States (SIDS)
UNESCO's Commitment to biodiversity
UNFCCC
· See the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change page.
UNFPA
UN Population Fund
UN Habitat
UN Habitat homepage
Earth Observations Toolkit for Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements
UN Harmony with Nature
UN Harmony with Nature homepage
UNHCR
UN High Commisioner for Refugees homepage
Environment, disasters and climate change
· UNHCR website on emergencies in different countries & general refugee information on a range
of issues includng education, public health, and asylum status. Also has information on NGOs,
other governmental organizations, and background on the work of the UNHCR. Not all of the
information has to do explicitly with environmental refugees so a little digging may be necessary.
UNICEF
UN Children's Fund homepage
· Originally established as the “UN International Children's Emergency Fund”
Climate change and environment
Climate change and environment
Leading Minds Fellowship on Climate Education
UNRISD
UN Research Institute for Social Development homepage
Just Transition and Care (JTC) initiative
UNU
Institute for Water, Environment and Health (IWEH)
World Institute for Development Economics Research (WIDER)
WIPO
UN World Intellectual Property Organization
Climate change and intellectual property
Green Technology Book: Solutions for climate change mitigation
Green Technology Book 2022: Solutions for climate change adaptation
WMO
World Meteorological Organization
Actors > International & intergovernmental organizations and forums >
Contents:
· United Nations (UN)
· CBD ~ UN Convention on Biological Diversity
· FAO ~ UN Food & Agriculture Organization
· HLPF ~ UN High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development
· IFAD ~ UN International Fund for Agricultural Development
· IOM ~ UN International Organization for Migration
· UNCTAD ~ UN Conference on Trade & Development
· UN Dag Hammarskjöld Library
· UNDESA ~ UN Department of Economic & Social Affairs
· UNDP ~ UN Development Programme
· UNDRR ~ UN Office of Disaster Risk Reduction
· UNEMG ~ UN Environment Management Office
⇒ UNEP & UNEA ~ UN Environmental Programme & UN Environment Assembly
· UNESCO ~ UN Educational, Social & Cultural Organization
· UNFCCC ~ UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
· UNFPA ~ UN Population Fund
· UN Habitat
· UN Harmony with Nature
· UNHCR ~ UN High Commissioner for Refugees
· UNICEF ~ UN Children
· UNRISD ~ UN Research Institute for Social Development
· WIPO ~ World Intellectual Property Organization
· WMO ~ World Meteorological Organization
United Nations system
Acronymbetizing
This listing is alphabetized according to the most commonly used acronym for each UN entity. Sometimes, "UN" is integral to the institution's name: for example, we call it UNEP (for UN Environment Programme), not "EP." In contrast, the FAO most commonly goes by that acronym, even though it is the UN Food & Agriculture Organization (and you will at times see it as UNFAO).
Listed on this page are UN entities focused on environment & sustainability.
Other pages will list topic-specific UN entities.
For a full accounting of the United Nations system, see this chart.
Climate change & Biodiversity
are highlighted
While the vast majority of UN agencies and programs listed on this page address climate change and/or biodiversity in some way, those with a core focus on one or the other are highlighted. Please note that this is a work-in-
progress and that there are no straightforward or widely accepted criteria for determining what constitutes "climate- focused” or "biodiversity-
focused.”