UNEP Report Calls Climate Change Biggest Environmental Issue in World

Climate change is the “major, overriding environmental issue of our time,” according to the 2013 Annual Report from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), which also charted progress in fostering greater efficiency in the use of natural resources, improved environmental governance and better practices for handling chemicals and waste.

For the first time, the annual report focuses foremost on climate change, calling it a “global crisis that is already affecting our ability to support virtually every element of human wellbeing and sustainable development, from economic growth to food security.”

The report draws on UNEP initiatives around the world to gauge ...