The purpose of this action is to open a new cooperative agreement between EPA and the UN environment programme (unep)

The five-year agreement, to begin on october 1, 2022, is in the amount of $7,250,000, with an initial installment of $1,005,000, and the goal is to improve environmental protection, capacity building and implementation of resolutions of the united nations environment assembly. This is in line with the memorandum of understanding between the united nations environment programme and the environmental protection agency of the united states of america, signed on 8 september 2021. Under this action, funds will be added for three projects under the cooperative agreement that address various aspects of cooperation with unep on food waste and the international resource panel (IRP). The focus of the planned collaboration will be work on strengthening environmental laws; creating healthy communities; transitioning to a green economy; responding to climate change and other global challenges; and providing scientific leadership. Activities:the anticipated activities for this cooperative agreement include: - support to countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions including across energy, industry, transport, buildings and construction, agriculture and forestry. - support to national country projects to introduce low sulphur fuels. - support to country projects that will support capacity development to address air quality management, including activities on urban air pollution. - support governments, unep, and partners to promote sustainable consumption and production (SCP) patterns, including through the 10YFP, the life cycle initiative, the sustainable infrastructure partnership. - support the implementation of the global strategy for SCP, cooperating and supporting programme development. - build upon existing national and international efforts, approaches, and resources to address food loss and waste in rapidly urbanizing cities in developing countries. - support continuing cooperation between U.S. EPA and unep in advancing the work of the international resource panel (IRP) in promoting resource efficiency and sustainable materials management globally. - continue to support regional activities, action plans, workshops, and pilot projects that reduce the amount of plastic pollution going into the marine environment. - advancing the implementation of the minamata convection and the unep global mercury partnership. - encouraging the development and implementation of effective lead paint laws and other activities to reduce lead exposure. - support the implementation of the strategic approach to international chemicals management (saicm). - support governments, unep, and their partners to implement the unea air quality resolutions. - protecting ecosystems, in particular water, through integrated approaches to ecosystem management. - build on existing cooperation to enhance countries' institutional capacities for environmental protection and management through collaborative activities such as those under the fifth montevideo programme and other activities others that support the development, implementation, enforcement and periodic review of environmental laws and regulatory instruments. - build on existing cooperation to promote the development of internationally comparable environmental statistics, indicators and accounts to support monitoring, evaluation and learning from their action to address environmental pollution, climate change and healthy and productive ecosystems, to conduct environmental research and assessments, to develop sustainable models and standards and to promote capacity building and development of environmental data collection and use, reporting and observation systems. Three projects will fall under this cooperative agreement that address various aspects of cooperation with the UN environment programme (unep)