UNEP advised Brazil on the development of energy efficiency standards for commercial refrigerators, an effort that aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 11 million tonnes annually – equivalent to 15 per cent of the emissions from the country’s electricity sector. Meanwhile, UNEP helped 10 cities in Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Kenya and Türkiye develop plans to decarbonize their building sectors.

Five countries – Angola, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Romania and Turkmenistan – joined the Global Methane Pledge in 2023, bringing total participation to 155 nations. UNEP is a core implementer of the pledge, which was prominent at COP28 and aims to cut global methane emissions by 30 per cent by 2030. This is crucial to address near-term climate change and buy time for full decarbonization.

The UNEP-led United for Efficiency initiative supported over 80 countries as they developed energy efficiency standards for lighting, equipment and appliances. By 2040, those interventions could save around 30,000 MW of energy, equivalent to 60 large power plants.

In 2023, an additional 11 parties ratified the Montreal Protocol’s Kigali Amendment, which calls for the phase down of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). Reducing the use of these potent greenhouse gases could avert up to 0.5°C of warming by mid-century. The protocol’s Multilateral Fund was replenished in October 2023 with a record US$965 million for 2024- 2026. More than 60 countries joined the Cooling Pledge, organized by the UNEP-convened Cool Coalition. The agreement aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions linked to the cooling sector by at least 68 per cent globally by 2050.

UNEP and partners organized Africa Climate Week alongside the first Africa Climate Summit, which brought more than 10,000 participants, including 20 heads of state, to Nairobi, Kenya. The gathering emphasized that Africa can drive solutions to the climate crisis. “We aim to weave a single, resounding African voice that will carry the outcomes … to COP28 and beyond,” said Kenyan President William Ruto.