Ms. Sofia Vikman, Chair of the Development Policy Committee of the Finnish Parliament,
Colleagues and friends.
It is a pleasure to be here today to speak with you about the environmental dimension of the UN and how we at UNEP are working through the UN80 initiative to strengthen it.
The environment undoubtedly undergirds the pillars of the UN Charter be it peace and security, be it human rights, or be it economic and sustainable development. Healthy ecosystems full of rich biodiversity, pollinators, fertile soils, clean water, resilient oceans, and clean, renewable energy are the foundation on which national stability, strong economies and sustainable development are built. An estimated 50 per cent of global GDP approximately 4044 trillion is moderately or highly dependent on nature.
But we are living in a rapidly changing world. Alignments and power dynamics are shifting, with trade and investment frictions growing. Competition for critical resources such as hydrocarbons, minerals, land and water is growing. Rapid advances in AI and other technologies are increasingly reshaping how we live, work and interact. We are seeing a rise in disasters and conflicts. All these factors are increasing already intense pressures on the environment and human well-being.
Healthy ecosystems, which are key to our collective wellbeing, cannot retain their health when climate change is pushing ocean temperatures to dangerous levels, bringing destructive storms and vicious droughts, and accelerating desertification and land degradation. They cannot retain their health when humanity is over-exploiting species and non-renewable resources, and filling them full of toxic chemicals, plastic pollution and more. They cannot retain their health when political priorities and national funding are being diverted away from environmental action towards conflicts that, themselves, bring long-term environmental consequences for millions of people.
The simple fact is that environmental security is human security. It is national security. It is food and energy security.
And let us remember that the consequences of environmental degradation ripple across borders, contributing to forced migration, displacement, food shortages and more.
It is so important to hold this idea in mind when we consider the current context. Recent data from the OECD tells us that international aid from member countries and associates of the Development Assistance Committee in 2025 fell by 23.1 per cent year-on-year in real terms, bringing official development assistance (ODA) crashing down to levels last seen in 2015.
But ODA is also a domestic investment. When nations invest in supporting fragile states to deal with environmental degradation, including that caused by conflict, they minimize the risk of associated washing up on their own shores.
So, we must work together, even in such complex times, to strengthen multilateralism which is the best way to tackle global, complex and interconnected environmental challenges. No one nation or organization can do this alone. We need a global response, working together with and through a strong, modern UN. This is why the UN80 reform initiative has a clear goal: building a UN system that delivers more effectively, more coherently and with greater impact, amid the reality of shrinking resources and rising needs.
The UN80 reform initiative is, of course, critical for UNEP the UNs leading global authority on the environment as we seek to deliver on the environmental dimension of the Sustainable Development Goals more effectively, more coherently and with greater impact.
We at UNEP are deeply engaged in all three UN80 workstreams. I am pleased that some of our innovations such as those on mandate development and the monitoring and reporting platform are inspiring the broader UN system. Indeed, the UN General Assembly recently adopted the resolution on Mandate Creation, Implementation, and Review for an Efficient and Effective United Nations, to which UNEP contributed.
UNEP is now playing a key role, together with the UNFCCC, by leading Work Package 27, which is undertaking a thorough assessment of current arrangements and will make proposals on possible structural changes and programme realignments on environmental issues.
Over 20 UN agencies and Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) are participating in this work to explore four interconnected issues science, governance, coordination and implementation that can strengthen the effectiveness and coherence of our work.
Area one, Science, is looking at how the evidence from science informs the relations between a healthy environment and the three pillars of the UN Charter and at enhancing coordination of environmental science across the UN system crucial at a time when science is being challenged and selectively interpreted.
Area two, Governance, is looking to increase synergies among MEAs and to elevate the role of the United Nations Environmental Assembly in the multilateral system as a convening platform for collective action for Member States, but also the UN system, MEAs and civil society.
Area three, Coordination, is seeking to reduce fragmentation and dispersion through mainstreaming interconnections between science-policy-action across the UN system, strengthening the Environment Management Group (EMG) and aligning it with other environmental and natural resource coordination mechanisms, and enhancing the integration of science and global policies to regional and local level. Let me just say here that strengthening the EMG is crucial from a development policy perspective if we are to mainstream the environment into development, peace and human rights policy thinking. My thanks to Finland for the strong support in this regard.
Area four, Implementation, is focusing on better connecting the scientific messaging, normative and policy setting processes, support mechanisms and modern tools to address gaps and mobilize private sector finance for implementation of MEAs and the 2030 agenda commitments.
I hope that Member States can support all the proposals from Working Group 27, when they come out through the Secretary-General.
Colleagues, UNEP is also taking direct action on efficiencies and coordination to ensure that Member States money is better spent.
UNEP was among the first UN entities in 2025 to undertake a functional review to allow us to navigate the reduction in resources. We at UNEP have closed our Washington and Moscow Offices, with representation now being done from New York and Almaty, respectively. We are taking measures to uplift our strategic regional presence and better support Member States at the country level. We are readying the organization to align with the UN80 initiative reforms while uplifting normative and coordination functions.
UNEP is therefore doing everything it can to adapt to new realities. But there is only so much adapting that can be done amid dwindling resources.
Environment Fund income declined from US$90 million in 2024 to US$85 million in 2025. For 2026, we are prudently planning for a US$70 million allocation to protect UNEPs long term financial sustainability. Together with the contribution from the Regular Budget, this Fund pays for the spine of UNEP: the science, the environmental law, the policy coordination, the capacity building, the standards and the convening.
I do thank Finland for the continued strong support politically, technically and financially.
I appreciate Finlands core contribution to the Environment Fund for two years, 2024-2025, to increase predictability of funding, although I do note the drop from EUR 2.5 million annually to EUR 1.5 million per annum. I count on Finland to make every effort to strengthen the core funding.
In a world of compounding environmental risks and growing financial pressures, UNEPs Environment Fund remains one of the smartest multilateral investments Member States can make. Because we do need multilateralism, now more than ever, to deliver for people and planet.
Once again, thank you to Finland for everything you have done for the environment, and for UNEP. I look forward to working with you including through cooperation with Finnish partners under EU Global Gateway Initiatives to do even more.
