June 2007: The Co-Chairs of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) consultations on the UN’s environmental activities, Claude Heller (Mexico) and Peter Maurer (Switzerland), presented their Options Paper at a UNGA meeting on 14 June 2007 at UN headquarters, New York, US.

The paper outlines proposals for seven building blocks to strengthen international environmental governance (IEG): scientific assessment, monitoring and early warning capacity; inter-agency coordination and cooperation; multilateral environmental agreements; regional presence and activities at the regional level; the Bali Strategic Plan, capacity building, technology support; IT, partnerships and advocacy; and financing. In addition, the paper includes a chapter on the broader transformation of the IEG system, including the possibility of transforming the UN Environment Programme into a UN Environment Organization (UNEO). The Co-Chairs announced that they would conduct consultations in the coming weeks with all delegations and are hoping to convene a UNGA plenary meeting in the beginning of September 2007, based on the feedback they had received. They also suggested that formal negotiations on IEG should start before the end of the 62nd session of UNGA. [Reform the UN news update] [Co-Chair’s Options Paper]