Republic of Azerbaijan to host World Environment Day 2026

Baku, 27 June 2024 – The Republic of Azerbaijan will host World Environment Day 2026, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Republic of Azerbaijan announced today in the capital, Baku, during an official visit by the Executive Director of UNEP, Inger Andersen.

World Environment Day, which Baku will host on 5 June 2026, is the largest global platform for environmental engagement and action. Established by the UN General Assembly in 1972, the Day inspires and is celebrated by millions of people across the world, who participate in online and in-person activities and events around the world aimed at accelerating environmental progress for people and planet. With Azerbaijan as hosts, World Environment Day 2026 will focus on climate change.

“Like almost every corner of the Earth, Azerbaijan is facing devastating impacts of climate change and environmental degradation. To fend off these challenges, World Environment Day fills the world with millions of reasons for hope,” said Mukhtar Babayev, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Azerbaijan and COP29 President-Designate. Azerbaijan is set to host a landmark UN Climate Change Conference in November, almost double our renewable energy sources by 2030, grow forests, and reach zero-waste through state-of the-art facilities. Hosting World Environment Day is a natural choice, grounded in our solidarity for a green world.”

Recent years have seen nations working closer than ever to address the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature loss and pollution and waste. The UN Climate Change Conference COP28 saw countries agree to new commitments on renewable energy, efficiency, and methane amongst others, as well as signal the end of the fossil fuel era. The UN Biodiversity Conference COP15, in 2022, ended with the landmark Global Biodiversity Framework, which is now being implemented to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030, and the world adopted a historic treaty to protect life in the high seas.

“Governments, businesses, civil society and people across the world are calling for change – from ending the fossil fuel era, to restoring degraded nature, reducing pollution and demanding the right to a healthy environment,” said Ms. Andersen. “World Environment Day is the platform to bring global action together and I look forward to working with the Republic of Azerbaijan to drive progress on the climate crisis through World Environment Day 2026.”

By the end of this year, critical progress on climate finance is expected at COP29, along with countermeasures on desertification at the Convention to Combat Desertification COP16 and three years of international negotiations are expected to culminate in a legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution.

Next year, World Environment Day will be hosted by the Republic of Korea with a focus on ending plastic pollution. World Environment Day 2024 was hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia  with a focus on land restoration, desertification, and drought resilience.

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

About World Environment Day

World Environment Day is the United Nations’ principal vehicle for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the environment. Held annually since 1973, the Day has also become a vital platform for promoting progress on the environmental dimensions of the Sustainable Development Goals. With the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) at the helm, over 150 countries participate each year. Major corporations, non-governmental organizations, communities, governments, and celebrities from across the world adopt the World Environment Day brand to champion environmental causes.

About the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, Republic of Azerbaijan

The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Azerbaijan is the central executive authority responsible for implementing state policy in environmental protection. It oversees the organization and efficient use of natural resources, including groundwater, mineral raw materials, and surface natural resources. The Ministry also manages their restoration, as well as the observation and forecasting of hydrometeorological processes within the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan, including the section of the Caspian Sea belonging to Azerbaijan.

About the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)

UNEP is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.

 

For more information, please contact:

News and Media Unit, UN Environment Programme