New York, Dec 9 —Sweden and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have entered a US$40 million partnership over four years to strengthen work on environment and climate change as part of broader efforts to eradicate poverty and accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) contribution to UNDP will build national capacities and help to advance integrated policies to better manage ecosystems and biodiversity, improve water and ocean governance, and scale up climate action. It will also advance gender equality and women’s empowerment, and support innovative finance solutions.

“This continued close partnership with Sweden will allow UNDP to provide enhanced support to developing countries as they tackle the complex, interlinked challenges of climate change, environmental degradation and economic progress,” said UNDP Administrator, Achim Steiner.

“Indeed, this collaboration is part of a wider scale-up of our efforts to provide much-needed assistance to countries in implementing the SDGs and climate resilience”.

“UNDP is well-placed to work with a variety of actors to advance strategic and programmatic solutions for environmentally sustainable development - especially for people living in poverty. The world faces unprecedented threats from climate change and to the ecosystems services that sustain life and livelihoods for all countries. In this context, UNDP efforts to help countries shift to more sustainable development pathways are essential,” stated Carin Jämtin Sida Director-General.

With support from Sida and other partners, UNDP is helping countries to restore degraded lands, mitigate and adapt to the impact of the changing climate, and help communities gain access to cleaner, modern forms of energy. For example, through its ‘Climate Promise’, UNDP is taking steps to support at least 100 countries to revise and submit higher-ambition NDCs by 2020 through inclusive and transparent processes. In countries such as Mongolia and Kenya, UNDP is helping to integrate green economy principles into long-term development strategies and ensure that their mining industries are managed sustainably.  

“UNDP works with all stakeholders to integrate environmental and climate concerns into national, sectoral and local policies,” said Haoliang Xu, UN Assistant Secretary General and Director of UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support. “By strengthening the management of natural resources, we are addressing the root causes of multidimensional poverty and helping transform economies.”

Sida’s contribution to UNDP will support countries across several linked thematic areas: biodiversity mainstreaming and finance including a focus on food and commodity systems; strengthened water and marine resources management and governance; scaling up and accelerating climate change action; and shifting to cleaner and renewable energy sources.

UNDP is a leading implementer of environmental and climate programmes. UNDP supports inclusive and environmentally sustainable development in over 100 countries by providing integrated expertise and facilitating partnerships within and across countries and communities.

Media queries:

UNDP - Sangita Khadka, Communications Specialist, email: sangita.khadka@undp.org; Tel: +1 212 906 5043

Sida – Elsa Helin, Press Officer, email: elsa.helin@sida.se; Tel: +46 (0)8 698 53 43