1 November 2017 – Representatives from the Kingdom of Norway and UN Environment met to discuss overall strategic issues for UN Environment and the progress made on the implementation of their Programme Cooperation Agreement. Ambassador Victor Rønneberg led the Norwegian delegation, co-chaired by Norad and joined by other colleagues from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs including Norad and Ministry of Climate and Environment via a video conference call from Oslo.
UN Environment, led by Deputy Executive Director Ibrahim Thiaw presented an overview of UN Environment’s programme performance including specific areas of interest to Norway from oceans & marine litter and environmental crime to resilience to disasters and conflicts, Poverty Environment Initiative (PEI) and science-policy interface. Views were also exchanged on work related to gender, communications and how UN Environment works with other UN agencies and the private sector especially when it comes to the implementation of Agenda 2030. The Evaluation Office presented an overview of recent and planned evaluations on UN Environment.
Norway is one of the longest and strongest partners of UN Environment. It is a regular contributor to the Environment Fund and the 9th biggest contributor to the Environment Fund as of October 2017 with $3 million. Under the Programme Cooperation Agreement, Norway provides about $11 million annually for the implementation of Programme of Work in general and for some specific areas of interest. In addition, Norway provides financial support to some specific programmes and projects including the UN Environment Assembly.
