Today, the European Commission and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) renewed their strategic partnership. Jessika Roswall, European Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy and Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP, signed an amendment to the memorandum of understanding between the two organizations. It calls for mutual cooperation on the environment in response to today’s global challenges, which include geopolitical fragmentation and mounting environmental degradation.
This renewed partnership recognizes the central importance of environmental action for competitiveness, public health, socio-economic systems, security, peace and stability worldwide. It reaffirms a shared commitment to science-based policymaking, strengthened environmental multilateralism and collective action to address the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature, land and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste.
Jessika Roswall, European Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, said: “I am delighted that the EU-UNEP partnership is renewed at this critical moment for global and multilateral cooperation. We are grateful for UNEP’s invaluable science-based input to policy-making and look forward to deepening our strategic partnership.”
Inger Andersen, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, said: “The renewed strategic partnership between the European Commission and UNEP reflects our shared determination to strengthen science-based environmental governance and support the implementation of global commitments on climate, land and biodiversity loss and pollution. The European Commission’s leadership, partnership, and significant financial support to environmental multilateralism remain invaluable in delivering progress for people and planet.”
The cooperation framework aims to strengthen global environmental processes, including Multilateral Environmental Agreements, and support their implementation at global, regional and national levels, including in partner countries. It also recognises the UN80 Initiative and the Pact for the Future as drivers of greater coherence, effectiveness and engagement across the UN system.
Building on the European Commission’s priorities and UNEP’s new Medium-term Strategy for 2026-2029, the cooperation will be structured around three thematic pillars: climate action for sustainability, resilience, competitiveness and security; ecosystems action across land, ocean and freshwater systems; and scaling up circular-economy, resource-efficient and pollution-free value chains.
