Environment

“Action for water is action for peace…Achieving it relies on far greater cooperation…We must accelerate efforts to work together across borders, and I urge all countries to join and implement the United Nations Water Convention – which promotes managing shared water resources sustainably.”  

In a world grappling with the escalating crisis of global warming – evidenced by the accelerated melting of glaciers worldwide – the imperative for action has never been greater. Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion are the foremost contributor to global warming, accounting for a staggering 75% of total greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This shows we need to minimize our reliance on fossil fuels and confront the widespread consequences of fossil fuel-derived materials, notably plastics.  

Today, a new project to be implemented by UNECE with the support of Switzerland was launched in Tashkent, underscoring Uzbekistan's commitment to improving water and health governance and safe management of industrial and tailing facilities.  

Faced with increasing impacts of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss, which together constitute the “triple planetary crisis”, no country can act alone. Like nature itself, these challenges know no borders, which makes international cooperation a crucial part of action to address them.  

On 28 February 2024, the UN Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders under the Aarhus Convention, Michel Forst, released a position paper on state repression of environmental protest and civil disobedience: a major threat to human rights and democracy.