New UNEP report entitled:
Reducing Emissions from Private Cars: Incentive measures for behavioural change
This manual draws on recent advances in public policy science as well as the decades-long experience of UNEP and other organizations in the field of sustainability-motivated policy assessment. By using a "building blocks" concept, it builds on the approach proposed in the UNEP Guidance Manual "Integrated Assessment: Mainstreaming Sustainability into Policymaking". Furthermore it suggests using sustainable development as a major filter for prioritizing competing issues and for deciding on policy choices. The manual is expected to prove useful to policymakers and analysts, and will motivate its audience to adopt an integrated approach to policymaking and to play a role in a more intelligent management of human, financial and natural capital as a step towards achieving the Green Economy of the 21st century. .jpg)
Inappropriate subsidies contribute to widespread overfishing and to the distortion of trade in fisheries products. Current negotiations in the World Trade organization aim to address this problem through binding new subsidies rules. Meanwhile, many governments are working to reform their domestic fisheries subsidies programmes. But some fisheries subsidies will undoubtedly continue to be used for years to come. In this context, a knowledge of the policies
and practices that can reduce the risks associated with these subsidies is critically important. This paper seeks to develop “sustainability criteria”
for fisheries subsidies to guide both WTO negotiators and domestic policymakers. By examining issues related to the health of fish stocks, the capacity of fishing fleets, and the adequacy of fisheries management regimes, the paper proposes a series of basic tests whose application may allow the risks of fisheries subsidies to be reduced. The aim is to demonstrate that sustainability criteria for fisheries subsidies can be plausible, solidly rooted in accepted international norms, and tailored for use in the WTO as well as in the broader context of national practices.
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Certification and eco-labelling have gained significant momentum during the past years. This paper discusses the benefits and challenges of fisheries certification schemes for all actors involved - from the fisherman to the retailers. Can the increased use of certification of fisheries products contribute to halting the rapid decline of the world’s fish stocks? This is a question crucial for both conscious consumers and producers. It is often suggested that fisheries worldwide would benefit from improved management potentially gained through certification. There are, however, a number of challenges involved, such as the high initial costs of getting certified and overcoming the lack of data for small-scale fisheries. Retailers, on the other hand, would benefit from secured supply in the long-term, but need create long-term demand for their products. In addition to providing a comprehensive review of several certification schemes and discussing the obstacles, this publication introduces the sourcing policies of a wide range of retailer chains related to certification and addresses the question why not more fisheries are certified. It also points to possible approaches for increasing certification in developing countries and provides recommendations for future UNEP activities with regard to fisheries certification and eco-labelling. |
Geneva, 2 November 2009: The first ever online training course on Successful Organic Production and Export, launched by UNEP and UNCTAD under the auspices of the UNEP-UNCTAD Capacity Building Task Force on Trade, Environment and Development (CBTF) has received more than 600 applications from 80 countries and territories.
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Request for Proposals at UNEP/ETB for the Development of a Chapter on "Tourism" for inclusion in the Green Economy Report
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The publication “Climate and Trade Policies in a Post-2012 World” is the result of a joint effort by UNEP and the ADAM project (“Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies: Supporting European Climate Policy”). The publication provides a collection of short forward-thinking articles by leading experts on the relationship between trade and climate change policies. The authors closely examine a number of timely trade and climate change issues, including the potential use of climate-related border adjustment measures and liberalizing trade in climate-friendly technologies. |
Integrated Policymaking for Sustainable Development: |
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The broad menu of methodologies included in the guidelines should make them a primary working instrument for policymakers and analysts not only in environment but across the economic and social spheres. The manual is designed to empower them to play a role in achieving more intelligent, creative and sustainable management of economic development and thus contribute to human well-being. It builds a bridge between various policy communities and interested parties and their increasingly shared and common pursuit to deliver tomorrow’s Green Economy today. |
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| Green Economy Initiative |
Go to UNEP Main Website on Green Economy |
| Green Economy briefs |
Agriculture - A Catalyst for Shifting to a Green Economy Cities and Green Buildings - in the Transition to a Green Economy Water - In the Transition to a Green Economy
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DTIE/ETB’s ongoing work on payments for ecosystem services DTIE/ETB's ongoing work on energy subsidies |
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 Climate and Trade Policies in a Post-2012 World |
 Trade and Climate Change WTO-UNEP Report |
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 Global Green New Deal - Policy Brief |
 Integrated Assessment for Mainstreaming Sustainability into Policymaking: A Guidance Manual |
 Training Resource Manual The Use of Economic Instruments for Environmental and Natural Resource Management (2009) |
 The Economics of Ecosystems & Biodiversity - An interim report |
 Towards Sustainable Fisheries Access Agreements - Issues and Options at the World Trade Organization (2008) |
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| UNEP/UNCTAD CBTF Publication:  Best Practices for Organic Policy What Developing Country Governments Can Do to Promote the Organic Agriculture Sector (2007) |
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| MEA Experience in Identifying and Facilitating the Transfer of Technology -
What Insights Can Be Drawn for the WTO EGS Negotiations? (2007) |
Trade-related Measures and Multilateral Environmental Agreements (2007)
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| UNEP/UNCTAD CBTF Publication:  Overview of the Current State of Organic Agriculture in Kenya, Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania and the Opportunities for Regional Harmonization |
 ETB Newsletter: Economic Globalization - Seizing Opportunities and Addressing Challenges (January 2007) |
 Trade and Biodiversity Initiative: Trade, Agriculture and Biodiversity in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific Disponible en français |
Sustainable Trade and Poverty Reduction |
(Synthesis report of 
