CEU Receives UNEP Accreditation

CEU has been granted accreditation by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) with observer status to the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) and its subsidiary bodies. Accreditation is the main entry point for major groups and stakeholders into policy dialogue at UNEP and provides an additional avenue for participation in UNEP's policy development work in line with the expert work undertaken up to now by CEU's Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy (ENVS).

UNEP is currently revising and upgrading its stakeholder engagement strategy and developing new avenues for expert advisory input. CEU will be entitled to receive unedited working documents of the UNEA and to submit to the UNEP Secretariat written contributions to these unedited working documents for distribution to governments. CEU faculty and students will also have the opportunity to participate in regional consultation meetings as a part of the Science and Technology Major Group.

“This accreditation will enhance both faculty and student work on timely, real-world environmental issues, adding a new dimension to our contributions to these conversations on an international policy development level,” said Visiting ENVS Professor Stephen Stec.

CEU ENVS professors are tackling crucial environmental topics in and out of the classroom. Professors Laszlo Pinter and Ruben Mnatsakanian have played major roles in UNEP’s Global Environment Outlook and the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals. Professor Diana Urge-Vorsatz is a contributor to the UN's International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which recently made headlines with the publication of its most recent installment of the Fifth Assessment report on climate change – a jarring report that urges immediate action to avoid the catastrophic consequences of global warming. Stec is the Rapporteur of UNEP’s Expert Group on Stakeholder Engagement and, together with Professor Alexios Antypas, recently published an op-ed article about the European Union's energy strategy and how it will play out with Russia continuing to dominate as the major supplier to many European countries.

For further information on accreditation and how the UNEP works with civil society and other partners, see http://www.unep.org/civil-society/ and http://www.unep.org/civil-society/MajorGroups/TheScientificandTechnologicalCommunity/tabid/78623/Default.asp.