Environment & Energy :: United Nations Development Programme

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Environment & Energy

Environment and energy are essential for sustainable development. The poor are disproportionately affected by environmental degradation and lack of access to clean, affordable energy services. These issues are also global as climate change, loss of biodiversity and ozone layer depletion cannot be addressed by countries acting alone. UNDP helps countries strengthen their capacity to address these challenges at global, national and community levels, seeking out and sharing best practices, providing innovative policy advice and linking partners through pilot projects that help poor people build sustainable livelihoods

Over the past decades, China has experienced one of the world’s fastest ever reductions of poverty. But future efforts to further improve living standards will face growing barriers from environmental degradation. Environmental degradation will become a serious barrier to sustaining China’s hard won development gains in the future, unless urgent actions are taken. Increasing demand for natural resources such as energy, water and productive land, and decreasing sustainability or availability of such resources has brought issues of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and integrated land-water resource management to the top of policy agenda within China’s 11th Five Year Plan (2006-2010).

UNDP focuses on supporting China achieve the goals of the 11th Five-Year Plan while also improving compliance with Multilateral Agreements such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, the UN Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants and the UN Convention on Protection of the Ozone Layer and its Montreal Protocol. We do this by providing technical assistance for policy and legal reform, technology transfer and capacity building to address these issues. With a lack of global progress towards Millennium Development Goal 7 on Environmental Sustainability, the decade towards 2015 is important for both China and the rest of the world. The world will not achieve MDG 7 unless China makes it.

Climate change and sustainable energy

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China is a key member of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which aims to reduce emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) that cause global climate change. China is the worlds second largest emitter of GHGs, thus a major emphasis of UNDP support in on ways to implement the UNFCCC through expanded use of energy efficiency and renewable and support for adaptation measures and implementation of Kyoto Protocol.

Environmental governance and natural resources

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Many of the key causes of environmental degradation in China are the results of development needs in the area of environmental governance and natural resource management. With China’s economy continuing to grow at a rapid pace, the pressure of natural resources and critical ecosystems such as water and land become a major issue for future development. In addition, the ability to improve environmental sustainability hinges largely on China’s ability to harness a critical mass of environmental awareness in decision-makers and the public and its ability to translate increased awareness into action and improved accountability for damages to the natural environment and public health.

Chemicals management

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China is a key member of the UN Convention on Phase Out of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and the UN Convention of Phase out of Ozone Depleting Substances and its Montreal Protocol. Both of these UN Conventions aim to replace the use of chemicals deleterious to ecosystem and human health through technical transfer and chemical substitution. China stands as a key partner under both. Through the support of UNDP and partners, China has been able to phase out most of its Ozone Depleting Substances ahead of the global timeframe, while China’s increasing position as a major producer of food products in the world has also seen a major input of pesticides into the environment many of which are POPs.

Biodiversity and ecosystem services

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China is a key member of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD) which aims to improve the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity resources and reverse trends of extinction. China is one of only ten mega-diversity countries in the world, thus a major emphasis of UNDP support in on ways to implement the UNCBD through strategic partnerships and actions at national and local levels.

On-going Project(s): 43

Full Project Title: Improved Water Resources Management and Drinking

Project Cycle: 2007-2010
Budget(USD): 6.092 Million
Contributions(USD):

UNDP:       1,542,000
Government: 4,200,000
Private
Sector:       350,000

Delivery(USD):

2007:595,238
2008:2,224,316
2009:2,244,615

Implementing Partner: Ministry of Water Resources
Project Sites: Beijing, Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Sichuan, Xinjiang
Project Manager: Zhang Weidong