Book excerpt: The 2010 Annual Report catalogues the beginning of a new, strategic and transformational direction for UNEP as it began implementing its Medium Term Strategy (MTS) for 2010-2013 across six areas: Climate change; Disasters and conflicts; Ecosystem management; Environmental governance; Harmful substances and hazardous waste; Resource efficiency, Sustainable consumption and production. 2010 was important for many reasons, a year of on-going financial instability set against an increase in the frequency and intensity of natural disasters and shifting weather patterns. UNEP's broad response is catalogued in this 2010 Annual Report report - from global assessments to rapid mechanisms in Haiti in response to the January earthquake and advisory services to countries interested in transitioning to greener economies. This report attempts to set UNEP's work over the last year in context and show its future relevance in meeting the emerging challenges of the coming years. The core objective of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is to serve as an authoritative advocate for the global environment, To help governments set the global environmental agenda, and to promote the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system.