diff --git a/src/accelerate/commands/launch.py b/src/accelerate/commands/launch.py
index 96700389b3d..54c8a80d25a 100644
--- a/src/accelerate/commands/launch.py
+++ b/src/accelerate/commands/launch.py
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@
     PrepareForLaunch,
     _filter_args,
     check_cuda_p2p_ib_support,
+    convert_dict_to_env_variables,
     is_bf16_available,
     is_deepspeed_available,
     is_mlu_available,
@@ -738,10 +739,9 @@ def deepspeed_launcher(args):
 
     if args.num_machines > 1 and args.deepspeed_multinode_launcher != DEEPSPEED_MULTINODE_LAUNCHERS[1]:
         with open(".deepspeed_env", "a") as f:
-            for key, value in current_env.items():
-                if ";" in value or " " in value:
-                    continue
-                f.write(f"{key}={value}\n")
+            valid_env_items = convert_dict_to_env_variables(current_env)
+            if len(valid_env_items) > 1:
+                f.writelines(valid_env_items)
 
         process = subprocess.Popen(cmd, env=current_env)
         process.wait()
diff --git a/src/accelerate/utils/__init__.py b/src/accelerate/utils/__init__.py
index e8a8ca67dac..0ef022fe425 100644
--- a/src/accelerate/utils/__init__.py
+++ b/src/accelerate/utils/__init__.py
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@
     are_libraries_initialized,
     check_cuda_p2p_ib_support,
     check_fp8_capability,
+    convert_dict_to_env_variables,
     get_int_from_env,
     parse_choice_from_env,
     parse_flag_from_env,
diff --git a/src/accelerate/utils/environment.py b/src/accelerate/utils/environment.py
index ff99207e09b..133c330d42b 100644
--- a/src/accelerate/utils/environment.py
+++ b/src/accelerate/utils/environment.py
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
+import logging
 import os
 import platform
 import subprocess
@@ -23,6 +24,34 @@
 from packaging.version import parse
 
 
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+
+def convert_dict_to_env_variables(current_env: dict):
+    """
+    Verifies that all keys and values in `current_env` do not contain illegal keys or values, and returns a list of
+    strings as the result.
+
+    Example:
+    ```python
+    >>> from accelerate.utils.environment import verify_env
+
+    >>> env = {"ACCELERATE_DEBUG_MODE": "1", "BAD_ENV_NAME": "<mything", "OTHER_ENV": "2"}
+    >>> valid_env_items = verify_env(env)
+    >>> print(valid_env_items)
+    ["ACCELERATE_DEBUG_MODE=1\n", "OTHER_ENV=2\n"]
+    ```
+    """
+    forbidden_chars = [";", "\n", "<", ">", " "]
+    valid_env_items = []
+    for key, value in current_env.items():
+        if all(char not in (key + value) for char in forbidden_chars) and len(key) >= 1 and len(value) >= 1:
+            valid_env_items.append(f"{key}={value}\n")
+        else:
+            logger.warning(f"WARNING: Skipping {key}={value} as it contains forbidden characters or missing values.")
+    return valid_env_items
+
+
 def str_to_bool(value) -> int:
     """
     Converts a string representation of truth to `True` (1) or `False` (0).
diff --git a/tests/test_utils.py b/tests/test_utils.py
index 92805a30456..063bf262036 100644
--- a/tests/test_utils.py
+++ b/tests/test_utils.py
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@
     CannotPadNestedTensorWarning,
     check_os_kernel,
     clear_environment,
+    convert_dict_to_env_variables,
     convert_outputs_to_fp32,
     convert_to_fp32,
     extract_model_from_parallel,
@@ -355,3 +356,9 @@ class Second(QuantTensorBase):
         self.assertFalse(is_namedtuple((1, 2)))
         self.assertFalse(is_namedtuple("hey"))
         self.assertFalse(is_namedtuple(object()))
+
+    def test_convert_dict_to_env_variables(self):
+        env = {"ACCELERATE_DEBUG_MODE": "1", "BAD_ENV_NAME": "<mything", "OTHER_ENV": "2"}
+        with self.assertLogs("accelerate.utils.environment", level="WARNING"):
+            valid_env_items = convert_dict_to_env_variables(env)
+        assert valid_env_items == ["ACCELERATE_DEBUG_MODE=1\n", "OTHER_ENV=2\n"]