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The importance of clean air for the quality of our lives has recently been recognised by the United Nations General Assembly. What is more is that in the General Assembly session at the end of July, Member States overwhelmingly adopted a resolution recognising that a clean, healthy and sustainable…
In the face of rising prices of food and energy, and the persistence of the climate crisis, the sustainability of food systems is an issue of increasing global attention. While meat production provides an essential source of nutrition, and an important source of income for farmers, its impact on…
As Ministers from across the UNECE region gather in the Cypriot capital of Nicosia to outline new initiatives to work towards a sustainable and ecological future at the 9th Environment for Europe Conference (5-7 October), the final report on the Batumi Action for Cleaner Air (BACA), adopted 6 years…
The extreme heat and drought that the region experienced this summer is a bleak reminder that current commitments under the Paris Agreement and those made last year at COP26 are nowhere near what is needed to limit global warming to below 1.5°C. Inaction is a policy choice that will lead to greater…
With the review of the amended Protocol to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-Level Ozone (Gothenburg Protocol) about to enter its final round, expert groups under the UNECE Air Convention are now discussing latest findings to assess the effectiveness of measures.
The amended Protocol…
All too often we take the air we breathe and share for granted. Only when we breathe very polluted air, when we can smell and see the pollution, do we realize that the air around us is a precious good that needs to be protected, much like the water we drink. On the International Day of Clean Air…
July is a month to start enjoying the harvest of fruits and vegetables for many in Europe and the topic of reducing food loss and waste becomes very urgent. In Serbia, agriculture is an important sector of the economy, contributing around 6% of GDP. In March 2022 food production accounted for 10.4…
At what point do we cease to be alarmed by a shocking reality? Many of you may already be familiar with the following figures, from the last WHO Global Status Report on Road Safety (2018).
Every year 1.3 million people are killed and around 50 million injured on the world’s roads, often with…
Transport continues to be a significant source of air pollution, especially in cities in the UNECE region. Air pollutants, such as particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), harm human health and the environment. Although air pollution from transport has decreased in the last decade…
Have you ever wondered what causes air pollution? Are you interested in learning about the effects of air pollution on your health and the environment? Do you want to learn how we can jointly work on cleaner air? If you replied yes to any of these questions, then you are encouraged to take the e-…
Evidence, in the form of data and statistics, is essential for formulating and monitoring policies. The term ‘evidence-based decision-making’, so commonly used that sometimes we don’t even think about it, makes this abundantly clear.
But we don’t just need any old evidence. If we are to be sure…
With the review of the amended Protocol to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-Level Ozone (Gothenburg Protocol) under the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution well underway, experts further discussed the sufficiency and effectiveness of current measures at the 60th…
As guests of the planet, we human beings can thrive only if our host environment is thriving. We are strongly connected to it, more than we probably understand and more than we probably dare to admit.
Conversely, the ways humans treat the environment has clear negative effects on our health and…
We probably all know what a potato is and how we prefer to eat it. But do you know what a seed potato is, and why seed potato certification matters? And did you know UNECE has a standard for seed potatoes?
Potatoes is one of the easiest vegetables to grow, as old potatoes that have grown buds can…
Millions of people are experiencing the severe impacts of climate change, through unprecedented extreme weather episodes and more frequent disasters. According to the Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Hoesung Lee, its latest report, released last week, “is a dire warning about…
Minerals such as lithium, cobalt, and copper are essential for digitalization, for renewable energy technologies, and for the further deployment of electric vehicles. Demand for these and other minerals – known as “critical raw materials” (CRMs) – is growing fast as governments and businesses act…
The COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns it triggered have affected mobility patterns in most countries and brought to the fore many issues that had not received enough policy attention until now.
For instance, the fear of the virus and the search for social distancing led to a historic decline in…
COP26 was a positive step forward in the fight against climate change, but as the UN Secretary General pointed out in his comments: “it is not enough. We must accelerate climate action to keep alive the goal of limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees.” The compromise deal reflects the…
Over the last two weeks at COP 26, governments, the private sector and a wide range of actors have unveiled plans for climate action in crucial areas ranging from methane, to forests, finance, fashion, transport and far beyond. As US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry put it in our…
A map of air pollutant emission sources of a given country can help experts and decision-makers understand which policies are most viable. Spatial allocations of emissions are also important to understand where emissions are coming from on a regional level.
Spatially allocating – or gridding –…
In a joint statement, the Executive Secretaries of the United Nations Regional Commissions have called for enhanced regional cooperation to develop nature-based and technological solutions for capturing CO2 emissions from the atmosphere and ensuring its long-term storage. Version française
This…
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the world’s fragilities, including the weaknesses of our food systems which exacerbate hunger, obesity, poverty, political instabilities and economic crises. To overcome common and regional challenges, the five UN regional commissions have been working jointly on…
With the review of the amended Protocol to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-Level Ozone (Gothenburg Protocol) well underway, expert groups under the UNECE Air Convention are now collecting information to assess the effectiveness of measures.
The amended Protocol establishes legally…
With the UN Food Systems Summit taking place next week under the auspices of the UN General Assembly (23 September 2021), we must recognize that the food systems we have built over recent decades are unsustainable. The food choices we make every day as consumers and producers of food are having a…
August is wildfire season in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Many areas in the UNECE region, including North America, Siberia, and Mediterranean countries have experienced unusually hot and dry weather this year, and with that some of the biggest wildfires on record. Areas burned in Turkey…