UNDP

United Nations Development Programme

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is the UN's lead agency in the fight against problems, including poverty, inequality, and climate change. The UNDP supports the creation of comprehensive and long-term solutions for humans and the earth in 170 countries through a wide network of specialists and collaborators. The UNDP primarily assists underdeveloped countries.

The United Nations General Assembly adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 to alter the world by 2030. The UNDP, being the UN's main development agency, plays a key role in the development of SDGs and is a driving factor behind their global adoption.

In 2022, World Environment Day will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the historic United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. It's an opportunity to celebrate worldwide environmental achievement while also considering what remains to be done in order to attain "a healthy planet for the prosperity of all."

Governments all across the world have pledged to various forms of "green recovery" since the commencement of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the last 18 months, the world's leading economies have invested over US$20 trillion in COVID-19 recovery initiatives, aimed at re-booting economies and addressing the core causes of natural-climate disasters.

However, these efforts have so far proven insufficient. Only $368 billion of $14.6 trillion – 18 percent – of announced recovery expenditure is "green," according to research sponsored by Oxford's Economic Recovery Project and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The UNDP's 2022-2025 Strategic Plan proposes a bold vision for addressing the planetary emergency as a critical step toward attaining the SDGs and ensuring people's and the planet's health, prosperity, and security. In the short, medium, and long term, tools like the Targeted Scenario Analysis can assist with analyzing the risk vs reward of investing in nature.

Costa Rica, for example, demonstrates the need of investing in nature and climate-friendly solutions for green growth. Green programs received 0% of the country's $2.54 billion COVID-19 recovery fund. A closer examination of the data reveals the real situation.

When the pandemic hit, Costa Rica was in a better position to devote its recovery budget to social protection and other measures that aided recovery while not risking its climate and sustainable development goals.

Nearly all of Costa Rica’s population now has access to renewable energy, and deforestation has been reversed, with forests covering more than half of the country's area, compared to only 26% in 1983. The government has analyzed its natural capital to see how it may better utilize natural resources such as forests, which contribute roughly 2% of GDP in the form of lumber, other forest products such as nuts, and commercial activity involving these items.

The UNDP’s support to countries for a “green, inclusive transition” includes six signature solutions that serve as a model for how countries can make progress on climate change and nature-positive goals, while also ensuring more equitable, prosperous, and resilient societies. This includes helping 100 million people escape poverty; supporting 500 million people to gain access to clean energy; supporting the implementation of climate and nature-positive action plans in over 100 countries, and working in partnership with national governments and sister agencies like UNEP.