Environment

The Mediterranean Region, home to over 510 million people, is an important crossroads for economic, social and cultural exchanges between Europe, Africa, Asia and other continents. The region is rich in biodiversity, but has come under pressure due to the intensive exploitation of mineral resources and mass tourism linked to its numerous cultural landmarks. The region is also warming 20 per cent faster than the global average, placing additional pressure on already fragile ecosystems and vulnerable economies and societies.

Transparency in the environmental performance of economic activities and effective public access to environmental information, especially on products, are indispensable in addressing pressing environmental challenges. This also supports a just transition towards a green and circular economy, enabling consumers to make environmental choices, developing sustainable value chains and strengthening trust in public authorities.  

In the UNECE region, the Fourth Cycle of Environmental Performance Reviews (EPR) kicks off with the review of Tajikistan, carried out for the fourth time under the leadership of UNECE.  

A large, multidisciplinary team of international experts worked in Dushanbe from 6 to 15 November 2023, assessing the environmental performance of the country by examining developments during the past eight years.  

The European Commission has proposed a new legislation, the European Critical Raw Materials Act, to ensure a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials for the EU.

In the pan-European region, citizens are feeling the impacts of climate change through extreme weather events. This undermines equitable access to water and sanitation as human rights, due to increasing water scarcity and increased burden of water diseases due to overflow of untreated sewerage caused by flash floods. 

Policy solutions for pressing problems like air pollution require sound data. Emission inventories can help in determining the major sources of air pollution in a given country. 

Transboundary rivers, lakes, and aquifers play a vital role in supporting the livelihoods of billions of people worldwide. Roughly 60% of global freshwater flow is in shared basins. About 40% of the world’s population lives in shared basins. The development and management of transboundary water resources have historically been fraught with challenges. Divergent interests, inadequate legal frameworks, and limited technical capacity have often impeded equitable and sustainable cooperation among riparian states.

Global goals – just like regional and national goals — can only be achieved if we work together. This is a reason that revitalizing partnerships is at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

Understanding how pollutant emissions will evolve in the future is essential for designing effective clean air policies today while taking into account the available resources in a given country.