The United Nations Environment Programme was officially created by General Assembly Resolution 2997 in June 1972 following the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. The organization began operations with a staff of 300 professionals and an initial five-year fund exceeding US$100 million.
Headquarters for the United Nations Environment Programme are set up in Nairobi Kenya making it the first international organization headquartered in the Global South. This location choice was decided after competing bids from Mexico City New Delhi and Cairo were withdrawn to support Southern solidarity.
Inger Andersen was appointed by UN secretary-general António Guterres in February 2019 to lead the United Nations Environment Programme. She succeeded Erik Solheim who occupied the role from 2016 to 2018 before Joyce Msuya acted as executive director in November 2018.
The United Nations Environment Programme oversaw the historic 1987 Montreal Protocol which aimed to limit emissions of gases blamed for thinning the planet's protective ozone layer. This agreement stands as one of the most widely acclaimed successes under its supervision alongside other treaties like CITES and CBD.
The United Nations Environment Assembly replaced the Governing Council in 2014 after years of reform efforts following the 2007 publication of the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report. The first session took place in Nairobi from June 23 to 27 that year with a sixth session occurring between February 26 and March 1 in 2024.