International Environmental Governance

The 2005 World Summit Outcome, which sets the global policy agenda agreed by world leaders, addresses, among other issues, international environmental governance, especially in the context of United Nations reform. In paragraph 169 of the Outcome, Governments agreed to explore the possibility of a more coherent institutional framework, including a more integrated structure, for environmental activities in the United Nations system. Pursuant to that paragraph, the General Assembly at its sixtieth session, upon the proposal of the President of the Assembly, established an Informal Consultative Process on the Institutional Framework for the United Nations' Environmental Activities. Following a series of consultations during 2007, the Co-Chairs of the informal consultative process presented an option paper in June 2007. 

At the request of the High-Level Advisory Group on System-Wide Coherence, chaired by the Deputy Secretary-General (DSG) in New York on 25 May 2007, the EMG contributed to the informal consultative process by preparing a submission on the strategic views of the UN system agencies and MEAs on the GA Co-Chairs’ Options Paper. The EMG exercise facilitated interactions among members and allowed the group to: exchange preliminary views on options under discussion; identify obstacles encountered or successes achieved by agencies in enhancing the coherence of the system; suggest areas that might need further exploration and discussion; flag options considered to have some merit for enhancing the coherence of the system; and identify the possible implications of the options and recommendations for the UN system.