“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
– Margaret Mead

YEA! Global Summit 2022

5th July 2022 – Book your free slot here!

We are delighted to welcome you to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Youth and Education Alliance – YEA! Global Summit.

Taking place on 5th July 2022, this virtual Global Summit will bring together YEA! partners and the wider higher education community to provide an opportunity for universities and colleges around the world to learn more about YEA!, to get involved in a variety of initiatives to support climate action on campus, and to hear from higher education practitioners, youth and government representatives.

The YEA! Global Summit is a partnership between UNEP, EAUC and Tongji University.

See here for more info!

#OnlyOneEarth EARTH SCHOOL challenge for #WorldEnvironmentDay 2022

The 2022 World Environment Day campaign #OnlyOneEarth calls for collective, transformative action on a global scale to celebrate, protect and restore our planet. Take part by doing and sharing the #OnlyOneEarth Earth School challenge in the lead up to #WorldEnvironmentDay on 5th June, then challenge other schools too. Read the #OnlyOneEarth Practical Guide for some great ideas of transformative actions that educators and individuals can take.

EVENT REGISTRATION
Do you have any events planned in the lead up to WED 2022?
If so, please let us put them on the map by adding them here.

Side Event Stockholm+50: Green Jobs for Youth Pact by UNEP, ILO and UNICEF

This Stockholm+50 side-event will introduce The Green Jobs for Youth Pact, an initiative by UNEP, ILO and UNICEF on Thursday 2nd June 2022, at 9.30am CEST.

The three UN agencies will, by building on existing efforts and joint lessons learned, accelerate commitments to secure green jobs and build green skills in key countries and in high-impact sectors for young people. The ambition is to work with governments, civil society, workers, employers, businesses, and academia to contribute to a just transition to a low-carbon and circular economy that supports solutions to the triple planetary crisis. During S+50, the UN agencies will convene a meeting of key stakeholders to discuss the urgent need to better prepare youth for green jobs and agree on a path forward. This will lead up to a launch of the Green Jobs Pact by COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh.

Online Event: Behavioural science for sustainable change

Join us on 10th June at 1pm CET – Register here!

This session will present UNEP’s innovative work on inspiring sustainable behaviour change among young people globally to encourage greener universities and societies. Behavioural science experts will share progress made through the implementation and measuring the impact of nudges on university campuses as part of the Little Book of Green Nudges initiative. Additionally, UNEP will also share their work with gaming companies to integrate green activations into games through the Playing for the Planet Alliance.

Solutions Summit:
Getting the Climate and Green Economy Workforce We Need

1st June 2022, 2:00pm – 3:30pm CEST – Register: HERE

Are you a green economy employer, educator, career advisor, minister, or other stakeholder? Are you concerned about climate change and want to help expand the workforce urgently needed to implement climate and sustainability solutions? Clean energy and green economy organisations are very busy and need help. Let’s make recruitment, education, career guidance and job placements more effective and inclusive. Please attend the Solutions Summit brought to you by UNEP-YEA’s Green Jobs initiative and the Green Growth Knowledge Platform’s Green Learning Network.

Side Event Stockholm+50: A 2030 Vision for a Responsible & Sustainable Minerals & Mining Sector

Friday 3 June 2022, 17:15-18:30 (CEST)

You are invited to join this Side Event at the Stockholm+50 International Meeting, organized by UNEP, Sweden (Sida) and the Principles for Responsible Investment (Church of England Pensions Board). The event focuses on solutions for the environmental and social challenges in the mining sector and how to build back better from the Covid-19 pandemic. It will discuss how all stakeholders are key in raising the level of ambition of the mining sector to achieve sustainable outcomes while leveraging increasing automation and digitization. The outcomes will feed into UNEP’s publication on Guiding Principles for a Responsible and Sustainable Minerals and Metals Sector as well as the Investors Mining 2030 vision.

More information here!

Join the Multi-Stakeholder Dialogues to share your voice to end plastic pollution

29 May – 1 June 2022

You are invited to join the Multi-Stakeholder dialogues, which are part of the programme of the open-ended working group (OEWG), and organized by UNEP, the  Life Cycle Initiative, the Global Partnership on Marine Litter (GPML) and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI). The dialogues are organized to engage and hear the voices of stakeholders that will be impacted by the international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution but would normally not participate directly in the negotiations. The outcomes will be reflected in the OEWG report, which will be submitted to the INC-1.

More information about the programme and how to join can be found here!

GO4SDGs brings regional topics to the Stockholm+50 International Meeting

In the lead up to Stockholm+50, UNEP, with the support of GO4SDGs, has coordinated five multi-stakeholder regional consultations engaging over 2,000 participants. Some of the key themes were changing consumption and production patterns, scaling up circularity, the need for sustainable finance to enable a healthy planet and prosperity for all, and the important role of SME’s. See full reports of the consultations here.

Here you will find more information about all the hybrid side events GO4SDGs is organizing and co-organizing.

Take part in UNEP’s survey on the right to a healthy environment of children, youth, and future generations

In June 2021, the Heads of United Nations Entities released a joint commitment promoting the right to a healthy environment of children, youth, and future generations. You can read it here. We call on you to take part in UNEP’s online survey to help inform and support the organization in identifying gaps and establishing plans for implementing the joint commitment and further integrating the right to a healthy environment of children, youth, and future generations in its work. You can read more about this initiative here.

All colleagues and stakeholders, including children and youth, are invited to provide their input through the links below by 30 June 2022.

• Survey (for youth and adults): https://bit.ly/consultationR2HE
• Child-friendly survey: https://bit.ly/R2HEcyf