The release of UNEP's Global Cooling Watch Report 2023: Keeping it chill highlights the importance of passive cooling alternatives to energy-hungry air conditioners.

“I believe fundamentally that nations have to work together to solve these big environmental crises, you cannot solve them on your own.”

Lewis Pugh was never afraid to take the plunge. Now ocean advocate for the United Nations Environment Programme, the record-breaking cold-water swimmer has completed long distance swims at both of the Earth’s Poles, in the Red Sea, and along the length of the Hudson River, to spread a message of habitat renewal and conservation.

Healthy oceans, seas and rivers are essential to supporting life on Earth - providing food, medicine, and acting as the world’s largest carbon sink. In this episode of Awake at Night, Lewis Pugh reflects on his love for the water, on his breathtaking swims, and  onbreaking the diplomatic ice to create the world’s largest marine park.

UNEP has released its 2nd global report which provides an essential toolbox of approaches for strengthening the implementation and enforcement of environmental law.

As greenhouse gas emissions hit new highs, temperature records tumble and climate impacts intensify, UNEP's Report finds that the world is heading for a temperature rise far above the Paris Agreement goals. 

The Minamata Convention on Mercury, a multilateral environmental treaty, addresses the production of mercury. Mining the element will become illegal in Mexico and the rest of the world in 2032. That leaves many miners worried about how they will support their families, even as they deal with the often-direct health risks of their profession. With unemployment over 70 percent, Mexican miners are at a crossroads. In response, the Mexican government has launched a project to help 19 communities in the Sierra Gorda transition to alternative, mercury-free livelihoods. The project is led by the United Nations Environment Programme.

The United Nations Environment Programme has recently announced the 2023 Champions of the Earth, the UN’s highest environmental honor. This year's award honored a city mayor, a non-profit foundation, a social enterprise, a government initiative and a research council for their innovative solutions and transformative action to tackle plastic pollution. Since its inception in 2005, the annual Champions of the Earth award has been given to trailblazers at the forefront of efforts to protect people and the planet. Including this year’s five Champions, the award has recognized 116 laureates: 27 world leaders, 70 individuals and 19 organizations.

UNEP launches the 2023 Adaption Gap Report identifying seven ways to increase financing, including through domestic expenditure and international and private sector finance, to mitigate the rising climate change impacts.

As climate change feeds increasingly frequent hurricanes in the Caribbean, UNEP has implemented a revolving loans programme. This will facilitate low-interest loans to Antigua and Barbuda residents for hurricane-proofing their homes.

Despite its widespread use, mercury has been known for centuries to be toxic. Adopted in 2013, the Minamata convention aims at stepping up action on mercury pollution to help attain a pollution-free planet.

Unsustainable food production and consumption are key challenges facing humanity. Urgent action is needed to transform our food systems to ensure food security, end hunger, and address the triple planetary crisis. Feed the world while nourishing the planet!

International tourism is headed back to pre-pandemic levels, with double the number of people travelling so far in 2023 than in the same period last year. Tourism is a huge industry. Unsurprisingly, tourism is a big contributor to the global plastic pollution crisis. Eight out of 10 tourists visit coastal areas, adding to the 8 million tonnes of plastic that enter the ocean every year. A joint 2021 report from UNEP and the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) highlighted the need for coordinated actions, policies and infrastructures to drive the industry toward circularity.

Fishing communities in Madagascar have seen their catches dwindle - a by-product of overfishing. But in some communities, fish stocks have start5ed to rebound thanks to small grants from UNEP.

In a world where tonnes of edible food is lost, leaving people hungry and small-scale farmers in poverty, temperature-controlled storage and transport of food is a solution. FAO, the Ozone Secretariat of UNEP, UNEP and the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy are working with countries to find solutions to sustainably expand cold chain infrastructure, where viable, using renewable energy to power cooling.

Nenquimo, a UNEP advocate, fronted a lawsuit that banned resource extraction on 500,000 acres of her ancestral lands. The victory of that court case has brought new hope to Indigenous communities.

The Freshwater Challenge aims to restore 300,000km of rivers  - equivalent to more than 7 times around the Earth - and 350 million hectares of wetlands - an area larger than India - by 2030.