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United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
New Zealand is a member of UNEP, the leading global authority on the environment. UNEP meetings are an opportunity for global discussions on international environmental issues and to set the direction of the international environmental agenda.
UNEP provides information on the state of the global environment including the Global Environment Outlook(external link) and also plays an important role in international negotiations on Multilateral Environment Agreements, often acting as the secretariat to a number of these.
New Zealand was a founding member of UNEP, and now participates in its governing body, the United Nations Environment Assembly.
Read more about the United Nations Environment Programme(external link)
New Zealand has joined other countries in supporting coordinated global action to combat marine plastic pollution through a new global agreement. The first part of the fifth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee meeting (INC-5.1) on this agreement was held from 25 November to 1 December in Busan, Republic of Korea. New Zealand is a member of the High Ambition Coalition(external link) to End Plastic Pollution. The High Ambition Coalition is committed to develop an ambitious international legally binding instrument and shares a common ambition to end plastic pollution by 2040.
Read more about the process and how you can share your views, on the Ministry for the Environment’s website(external link).
Global Environment Facility (GEF)
New Zealand contributes to the financing and governance of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). This provides funding and other support for environmental initiatives in developing countries, including in the Pacific. The kind of action supported by the GEF includes climate change response, prevention of biodiversity loss, and management of pollution, land degradation and international waters.
New Zealand participates in the GEF Council as part of a regional group including Australia and South Korea.
Read more about the Global Environment Facility (external link)
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
New Zealand participates in the OECD’s Environment Policy Committee and other working groups. The committee collects and analyses data and provides expertise and policy advice to help governments address environmental challenges. It also carries out performance reviews, the last one for New Zealand being in 2017.
Read more about the OECD Environment Policy Committee(external link)
Pacific organisations
New Zealand also works with or participates in the:
- Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme(external link), which works to protect the Pacific environment and ensure sustainable development
- Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission(external link), which uses earth sciences to improve the livelihoods of Pacific Islanders in a sustainable way.