Main highlights: The first virtual UNEA session took place from 22 to 23 February 2021. The UNEP Adaptation Gap Report 2020, was launched on 14 January 2021. The UNEP synthesis report, “Making Peace with Nature: a scientific blueprint to tackle the climate, biodiversity and pollution emergencies” was launched on 18 February 2021. UNEP, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, and the European Commission launched the Global Alliance on Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency on 22 February. 39 countries have already joined the Global Alliance, which will support the transition to a global circular economy for more efficient and equitable use of resources. The Basel Convention’s Plastic Waste Amendments came into effect on 1 January 2021, and thus, legally binding 186 states to enhance the control of transboundary movements of plastic waste and clarify the scope of the Convention. The “Global Recovery Observatory” and the report, “Are We Building Back Better?” were launched on 10 March 2021. The Observatory is a live database of all COVID-19 related government spending in the 50 largest economies, with over 3,500 policies as of February 2021. In March 2021, the 52nd meeting of the UN Statistical Commission adopted the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting – Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EA) framework, as an international statistical standard for countries to map and measure ecosystems, their condition, their services, and to evaluate their contribution to the world’s socioeconomic activities.