UNDP | Europe & CIS | Environment and Energy

UNDP supports national partners to transition to low carbon and climate resilient economies, ecosystems and communities.

UNDP promotes market transformation towards low-emission development:

Low emission development strategies

This includes support to Kyoto Protocol implementation, and to development of national communications, as part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); and promotion of renewable energy, and energy efficiency.

Energy, infrastructure, technology and transport

This covers policy framework development and capacity building for investment in low-carbon technologies and practices in energy efficiency, sustainable transport, renewable energies – work supported mainly by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Work in this area has helped to reduce cumulative emissions of 723,235 tons of CO₂ in 11 countries.

Catalyzing carbon finance

UNDP assists countries and market actors to overcome the policy and capacity barriers to participating in clean development mechanism (CDM) and joint implementation (JI) projects.

UNDP promotes climate resilient ecosystems, economies and communities:

Climate risk management

UNDP works with national partners to address the risks associated with climate variability and projected changes in climate. One of the flagship programmes covers all countries in Central Asian.

Ecosystems and sustainable land management

Maintaining and enhancing the beneficial services provided by ecosystems in order to secure livelihoods, water and health, reduce vulnerability and disaster risk, storing carbon and avoiding emissions from land use change and forestry.

UNDP’s works to: unleash the economic potential of protected areas so they are better able to fulfil their management functions, are sustainably financed and contribute to sustainable development; integrate biodiversity and land management activities into sectors such as mining, forestry, agriculture, so that production practices maintain essential ecosystem functions that sustain human welfare; and implement ecosystem-based adaptation and mitigation measures in peatlands, forests and agricultural ecoystems.

UNDP contributed to improved management effectiveness of 82 protected areas covering 16.8 million hectares, and mainstreaming biodiversity and land management into 54 million hectares.

Water governance

UNDP promotes integrated water resource management. UNDP has partnered with the European Commission in Central Asia to support planning and sustainable management of renewable water resources at the national and local level; and transboundary dialogue on water management in key water basins in the region - the Caspian Sea, Tisza, Kura-Aras and Dnipro rivers, Lake Baikal and Dinaric karst aquifer.

Early adaptation actions and long term adaptive capacity of economic sectors and vulnerable groups targeting in flood management, farming practices, coastal areas.
Chemicals

UNDP supports phasing-out production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances; reduction and elimination of production, use and releases of the persistent organic pollutants; and integrating sound chemical management into national development plans. Work in this area has resulted in 4,000 cubic metres of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) targeted for removal from use and approximately 200 cubic metres of ozone-depleting substances targeted for phase-out.

Poverty and environment

In collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), UNDP works to integrate environmental sustainability into national and local development policies and plans and strategies – with the aim of poverty reduction and economic development. Initiatives are underway in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.