A systemic change is needed to provide a safe and healthy working environment for the estimated 33 million people working in the forest sector worldwide, according to a new report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNECE.
UNECE and partners have started implementation of a multi-year project on “Improving the energy efficiency of the global building supply chain industry and its products to deliver high performance buildings” (full project budget EUR 19.8 million), funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) Germany.
As one of the United Nations regional economic commissions, UNECE has a key role to play in helping countries with economies in transition to better integrate into the global economy. UNECE is at the forefront of setting international standards on cross-border procedures, identifying regulatory and procedural barriers to trade and delivering related capacity building and technical assistance to meet specific country needs.
Bringing together countries to share progress and experience on how to effectively manage their shared waters is a key characteristic of the Water Convention. Cooperation for the management of transboundary waters to promote sustainability, peace and security is the Convention’s mantra - especially relevant as climate change increases pressure on the world’s water resources.
Since September 2022, as part of “The Sustainability Pledge” initiative, UNECE has been working with fashion company Stella McCartney
Central Asian countries are actively working towards improving access to water and sanitation. Despite recent progress, Kazakhstan's aging infrastructure, lack of human resources and financial constraints still limit the access of rural population to improved water and sanitation services. In 2022, 10% of the rural population did not have regular access to water.
UNECE presented its innovation policy insights during the Small Business Act for Europe (SBA) stakeholder meeting at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on 19 June 2023 in Paris. This meeting was a platform for experts on small and medium enterprises (SME) policy, government representatives from the region, and international stakeholders to discuss the outstanding challenges to SMEs in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine.
Public involvement in decision-making underpins the universal right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. 25 years since the adoption of a ground-breaking global treaty known as the Aarhus Convention – unparalleled in its success in putting environmental democracy into action – this matters more than ever, urges the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
For some time now, Uzbekistan has been engaged in various activities under the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention).
For many people around the world, the work and achievements of the United Nations remain in the realms of grand summits of heads of state on pressing global issues, of diplomatic brokering of peace agreements, of urgent humanitarian interventions for people in the greatest need, and other high-profile actions we can see in the news. But this only offers a glimpse of the huge breadth of work undertaken across all kinds of sectors, which is often of a highly technical nature, and which brings very tangible benefits for millions – or sometimes billions – of lives every single day.