Image copyright AFP/Getty Images Image caption Erik Solheim was the executive director of UN Environment

UN environment chief Erik Solheim has resigned amid a row over his travel expenses.

A recent draft internal audit, obtained by Britain's Guardian newspaper and seen by the BBC, said he had incurred costs of $488,518 (£382,111) while travelling for 529 out of 668 days.

It said this harmed the reputation of UN Environment - a body that highlights green issues and sustainability.

There was "no oversight or accountability" to monitor this travel.

Mr Solheim, a Norwegian former environment minister, says he has paid back the money where "instances of oversight" occurred.

On Tuesday, Mr Solheim himself confirmed his resignation, Norway's NRK broadcaster reported.

A formal UN announcement is expected shortly.

Climate change jet-setter

By Matt McGrath, BBC environment correspondent

Once news leaked about Erik Solheim's flights and expenses, he was on borrowed time at the UN. It wasn't solely because of the large sums involved - there was also an image problem.

At a time when awareness of climate change has never been greater, the sight of the man dedicated to fighting global warming endlessly jet-setting around the world risked reputational damage to the UN.

The auditor's report had also upset some European countries to such an extent that they had threatened to withhold millions of dollars in funding if he continued in post.

While many in UN circles will be glad to see him go, some will miss the energy and greater visibility he brought to a once-lacklustre branch of the organisation.

What did the audit say?

The amount spent on travel by UN Environment, a Kenya-based agency, doubled between 2014 and 2017.

The report was particularly critical of the travel undertaken under Mr Solheim, UN Environment executive director since 2016. A total about $58m was spent in the two years since then.

While all UN staff are expected to complete "mission reports" within two weeks of travel, the audit found that these were often missing.

When they requested reports for 596 trips undertaken by 32 managers and staff, 210 mission reports were not provided, while around 200 others were only completed after the request was made.

The audio was carried out by the UN's Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS).

It says Mr Solheim's leave and travel were approved by a member of his office who reported directly to him - in contravention of UN rules.

On one occasion, it says, "he made an eight-hour trip from Washington DC for a weekend in Paris, before taking another flight to New York city."</s>Executive Director of United Nations Environment Programme Erik Solheim announced his resignation on Tuesday amid a row over his travel expenses and internal rule-breaking.

A draft internal UN audit found that Solheim had spent nearly $500,000 (approximately Rs 3.56 crore) on air travel and hotels in 22 months, according to The Guardian. Calling this a “reputation risk”, the audit added it was “contrary to the ethos of carbon emission reduction”. Solheim had “no regard for abiding by the set regulations and rules” and claimed unjustified expenses, the audit added. The final version of the audit has not yet been made public but the draft was leaked to the media.

“The extensive travel patterns of [Solheim] did not set an example for the rest of the staff to follow,” the draft, compiled by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services, said. “In 2011 … the secretary general stated that ‘What we demand of others, we must do ourselves’. Such extensive travel therefore presents a reputation risk to the organization, especially [given] that Unep is supposed to be the lead on sustainable environment matters.”

The draft audit also criticised Solheim’s management style and referred to it as “having no regard for abiding by the set regulations and rules, and correspondence seen showed management willingness to circumvent regulations and rules which were termed as ‘bureaucratic’.”

Solheim said he had already paid back money in instances of oversight and has made changes where other rules were broken. Countries such as the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden had said they were stopping funding for the UNEP till the Solheim controversy was resolved. Several other countries had also reportedly threatened to hold back millions of dollars of funding.

“On Saturday, I received the final report on the audit of official travel undertaken by the UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services,” Solheim said in a statement. “As I have maintained throughout this process – I have been and remain – committed to doing what I believe to be in the best interest of UN Environment and the mission we are here to achieve. For this reason, after deep reflection and in close consultation with the Secretary-General, I am stepping down as Executive Director of UN Environment with effect from 22 November 2018.”

“I wanted UN Environment to be a lead agency for reform, even if it raised some questions,” Solheim emailed staff on Tuesday, according to The Guardian. “Doing things differently is never easy and I will depart knowing I never spared a moment in my effort to implement this vision and leave UN Environment more capable and more impactful.”

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres has accepted the resignation and appointed UNEP’s Deputy Executive Director Joyce Msuya as the acting director till a replacement is found.</s>UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. environment chief Erik Solheim resigned Tuesday following widespread criticism of his excessive expenses on official global travel. The former Norwegian diplomat, politician and environment minister announced on the U.N. Environment…

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. environment chief Erik Solheim resigned Tuesday following widespread criticism of his excessive expenses on official global travel.

The former Norwegian diplomat, politician and environment minister announced on the U.N. Environment Program’s website that he would step down Thursday after receiving the final report of the audit of his official travel by the U.N.’s internal watchdog on Saturday.

Its findings were not disclosed. But The Guardian newspaper reported in September that a draft internal U.N. audit found Solheim had spent almost $500,000 on air travel and hotels in just 22 months, and was away from the organization’s Nairobi base 80 percent of the time.

The London-based paper quoted the audit as saying this was a “reputation risk” for an organization dedicated to fighting climate change — and it said countries unhappy with Solheim’s spending were withholding needed contributions to the U.N. agency, known as UNEP.

“The secretary-general is grateful for Mr. Solheim’s service and recognizes he’s been a leading voice in bringing the world’s attention to critical environmental challenges,” Dujarric said. “He has led advocacy at the highest levels of government, business and civil society to drive the transformational change needed to make a real difference in the lives of people and promote the cause of environment.”

Asked for Guterres’ reaction to “the scandal” that led to Solheim’s resignation, Dujarric said, “The secretary-general is pleased to see that UNEP is committed to implementing the recommendations … on the travel office” made by the U.N. watchdog, the Office of Internal Oversight Services.

Dujarric said UNEP’s Deputy Executive Director Joyce Msuya of Tanzania would serve as acting executive director while Guterres launches a search for Solheim’s replacement.

Solheim expressed hope that his resignation, “after deep reflection and in close consultation with the secretary-general,” proves to be in the best interest of UNEP “and the wider UN.”

Solheim urged UNEP staff to take pride in the agency’s achievements, pointing to India’s phasing out of single-use plastics, the growing list of countries ratifying the Kigali Amendment on limiting the use of hydrofluorocarbons that are depleting the ozone layer, and “the remarkable signing of an agreement by 12 countries guaranteeing environmental rights in Latin America and the Caribbean” as well as others.

In a farewell tweet, Solheim said: “I am sad to be leaving @UNEnvironment as we have achieved so much together. I will continue to champion the cause of the environment!”

Copyright © 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.</s>UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) - UN environment chief Erik Solheim resigned on Tuesday (Nov 20) after an audit questioning his huge travel expenses triggered an outcry, UN officials said.

The former environment minister of Norway had been at the helm of the Nairobi-based UN Environment since June 2016.

A UN audit found that Solheim had spent nearly US$500 million (S$680 million) on travel and that he claimed unjustified expenses at a time when the world body is struggling with shrinking budgets.

His globe-trotting raised accusations that he showed little regard for the environment and efforts to reduce carbon emissions generated by air travel.

Solheim's resignation comes ahead of crucial talks opening in Poland on Dec 2 on implementing the Paris climate deal.

A formal UN announcement on the resignation was expected later on Tuesday.</s>UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. environment chief Erik Solheim has resigned following widespread allegations of excessive expenses on official global travel.

The former Norwegian diplomat and environment minister announced Tuesday on the U.N. Environment Program's website that he had received the final report of the audit of his official travel by the U.N.'s internal watchdog and was stepping down on Thursday.

The audit's findings were not disclosed. But Britain's The Guardian newspaper reported in September that a draft internal U.N. audit found Solheim spent almost $500,000 on air travel and hotels in just 22 months, and was away 80 percent of the time.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres accepted Solheim's resignation and recognizes his "leading voice in bringing the world's attention to critical environmental challenges."</s>UN environment chief Erik Solheim resigned after a UN audit exposed huge travel expenses at a time when the United Nations is struggling with shrinking budgets (AFP Photo/Fabrice COFFRINI)

United Nations (United States) (AFP) - UN environment chief Erik Solheim resigned on Tuesday after an audit questioning his huge travel expenses triggered an outcry, UN officials said.

The former environment minister of Norway had been at the helm of the Nairobi-based UN Environment Programme (UNEP) since June 2016.

A UN audit found that Solheim had spent nearly $500,000 on travel and that he claimed unjustified expenses at a time when the world body is struggling with shrinking budgets.

His globe-trotting raised accusations that he showed little regard for the environment and efforts to reduce carbon emissions generated by air travel.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric confirmed that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had accepted his resignation. Solheim's last day in the job will be Thursday.

Dujarric said Solheim had been "a leading voice in drawing the world's attention to critical environmental challenges" but he did not specify that the audit findings had led to his resignation.

"The secretary-general is pleased to see that UNEP is committed to implementing the recommendations that are found in the OIOS report on the travel office," he said.

The UN's Office of Internal Oversight Services had questioned the need for such extensive travel by Solheim.

Solheim's resignation comes ahead of crucial talks opening in Poland on December 2 on implementing the Paris climate deal.

UNEP deputy director, Joyce Msuya of Tanzania, will temporarily replace Solheim while Guterres begins a search for a new environment chief.</s>UNITED NATIONS: UN environment chief Erik Solheim resigned on Tuesday (Nov 20) after an audit questioning his huge travel expenses triggered an outcry, UN officials said.

The former environment minister of Norway had been at the helm of the Nairobi-based UN Environment Programme (UNEP) since June 2016.

A UN audit found that Solheim had spent nearly US$500,000 on travel and that he claimed unjustified expenses at a time when the world body is struggling with shrinking budgets.

His globe-trotting raised accusations that he showed little regard for the environment and efforts to reduce carbon emissions generated by air travel.

Solheim said in a statement that he had received the final report of the audit of his travel expenses on Saturday and that "after deep reflection" had decided to step down.

"As I have maintained throughout this process - I have been and remain - committed to doing what I believe to be in the best interest of UN Environment and the mission we are here to achieve," he said.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric confirmed that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had accepted his resignation. Solheim's last day in the job will be Thursday.

Dujarric said Solheim had been "a leading voice in drawing the world's attention to critical environmental challenges" but he did not specify that the audit findings had led to his resignation.

"The secretary-general is pleased to see that UNEP is committed to implementing the recommendations that are found in the OIOS report on the travel office," he said.

The UN's Office of Internal Oversight Services had questioned the need for such extensive travel by Solheim.

Solheim's resignation comes ahead of crucial talks opening in Poland on Dec 2 on implementing the Paris climate deal.

UNEP deputy director, Joyce Msuya of Tanzania, will temporarily replace Solheim while Guterres begins a search for a new environment chief.</s>UNITED NATIONS — U.N. environment chief Erik Solheim said on Tuesday he had resigned after receiving a final audit of his official travel.

A draft of the report found he traveled for 529 out of the 668 days audited, spending $488,518 with no regard for the rules, Britain's The Guardian newspaper reported in September.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had accepted Solheim's resignation, which would be effective from Thursday, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

When asked about Solheim's travel expenses, Dujarric said: "The Secretary-General, I think, is pleased to see that UNEP (the U.N. Environment Programme) is committed to implementing the recommendations that are found in the OIOS (Office of Internal Oversight Services) report on the travel office."

Solheim, a former Norwegian environment minister, said in a statement that he had decided to resign as executive director of the Nairobi-based U.N. Environment Programme after receiving the final audit report on Saturday.

"I have been and remain committed to doing what I believe to be in the best interest of U.N. Environment and the mission we are here to achieve," he said.

The U.N. Environment Programme aims to set the global environmental agenda though leadership and partnerships.

Dujarric described Solheim as having been "a leading voice in drawing the world's attention to critical environmental challenges, including plastics pollution and circularity; climate action; the rights of environmental defenders; biodiversity; and environmental security."</s>Tanzania’s Joyce Msuya has been appointed to head the United Nations Environment Programe (UNEP), in acting capacity, following the resignation of its executive director, Erik Solheim.

Msuya was appointed to the global organisation as the deputy executive director, at the level of assistant secretary-general of the United Nations, in August this year.

She previously worked with the World Bank and is consistently advocating for conservation of the planet.

Solheim resigned his position at UNEP, following an internal audit report that said he had had gobbled up $500,000 in unnecessary and budgeted travel expenses in just 22 months.

‘‘I am sad to be leaving UNEP as we have achieved so much together. I will continue to champion the cause of the environment,’‘ read a tweet he posted on his official account.

The Norwegian diplomat and former politician took became executive director of UNEP in 2016.</s>UNITED NATIONS: UN environment chief Erik Solheim resigned on Tuesday after an audit questioning his huge travel expenses triggered an outcry, UN officials said. The former environment minister of Norway had been at the helm of the Nairobi-based UN Environment since June 2016. A UN audit found that Solheim had spent nearly $500,000 on travel and that he claimed unjustified expenses at a time when the world body is struggling with shrinking budgets. His globe-trotting raised accusations that he showed little regard for the environment and efforts to reduce carbon emissions generated by air travel.
Erik Solheim resigns as head of the United Nations Environment Programme over allegations of expenses abuse and a lack of accountability.