News
Displaying Results 701 - 725 of 1264
Air pollution is the world’s largest single environmental health risk, responsible for the premature deaths of 7 million people every year globally and almost 600,000 in the European region. According to the World Health Organization, the associated economic cost in the region is about USD…
The world is not on track to meet the target of the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 'well below' 2°C. Participants at the Ninth International Forum of Energy for Sustainable Development (12-15 November 2018) in Kiev, Ukraine, deliberated on how nuclear energy could contribute to deep…
A number of legislative, policy, economic and financial barriers remain to significant improvements in energy efficiency and increased uptake of renewable energy. Identifying policies and measures in the UNECE region that reduce these barriers can help in increasing investment and financing…
As a result of integrated air pollution management strategies developed under the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (Air Convention), air quality has improved in the region over the past few decades. However, progress has also been uneven as the increase in…
Trade facilitation has key importance for improving the governance of the economy of Ukraine – a country with a population of 45 million people at the borders of the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union, still facing important political, economic and social governance issues. In order…
Central Asian countries rely heavily on economic activities that produce, process or use hazardous substances in large quantities. Such activities encompass the extraction and processing of minerals and metals, such as gold, mercury and uranium. The waste that these activities create cannot be…
Countries choose different pathways to meet commitments they have made under the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Climate Agreement, as national circumstances vary significantly. Analysis of the progress to date shows that much greater effort is needed, including much bolder policy commitments,…
Air pollution is a silent killer, leading to an estimated 7 million premature deaths every year- some 600,000 alone in the European region. This makes it by far the biggest environmental health risk in the world. Air pollution is known to increase risks for diseases as diverse as strokes, heart…
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 –…
All over the world, people are moving. As they always have throughout human history, people today migrate in search of better opportunities, to escape hardship or conflict, or to connect with loved ones. Today, though, the scale of migration is unprecedented and the reasons ever more diverse –…
With the advent of eCommerce or on-line trading platforms, a focus of recent discussions on its development has been the concern for the need for new data exchange standards for eCommerce and how micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) could access international markets. To be…
Do you know where pollutants in the air we breathe come from? 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.While air quality in the UNECE region…
Upholding the principles of environmental democracy means ensuring a safe space for shaping the environment for all members of the public, including environmental activists, who are increasingly under threat in many countries. It also means making sure the public is equipped to participate in…
The Dominican Republic has recorded impressive economic growth rates in past years, yet the agricultural export sector continues to face challenges impacting the country’s economic and social development and limiting the gains from its free-trade export potential. Informal domestic structures,…
About 3 billion people, over 40% of the global population, live within transboundary basins and rely on the good management of transboundary waters to secure drinking water supplies, support economic activities such as agricultural and energy production, and promote peace and stability. The…
This year’s International Day of Older Persons on 1 October will celebrate the older people around the world who dedicate their lives to championing human rights. 2018 also marks the 70th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).Older human rights champions…
From the California wildfires, to Hurricane Florence in the Carolinas and the earthquakes and tsunami in Indonesia, disasters have wrought havoc in the lives of so many across our planet in the last few weeks alone. Local and national authorities are the prime responders when disasters strike,…
What are the interlinkages between Sustainable Development Goals on sustainable energy (SDG 7) and gender equality (SDG 5)? How can improving understanding of gender dimensions within the energy sector and promoting women’s participation in energy-related decision-making drive progress in both…
Experts from Hungary, Ukraine, Serbia, Romania, Slovakia, Croatia, Czechia and Austria joined UNECE in Hungary to take part this week in a practical exercise in the operational area of the Danube Oil Refinery related to industrial accident and water pollution management. This one day exercise…
Today, more than half of the world population lives in cities – a number expected to grow to 70% by 2030. The concern about the pressure a growing urban population will put on cities in the future is unmistakably reflected in the distinctly urban component of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable…
The expansion of the digital economy and cross-border electronic commerce means there is greater need for trade facilitation reforms. While purchasing an item online is relatively straightforward, the rest of the regulatory or commercial formalities are critical for faster and efficient receipt…
During the last four years, UNECE together with UNDP and partner aid agencies, have worked with the public and the private sectors in Central Asia to improve their capacity to sell products in the UNECE region and beyond. The focus has been Central Asia’s largest production region, an area…
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have faced development challenges since they became independent in the early nineties. Recent years have seen more activities aimed at fostering greater stability, prosperity, sustainability and transboundary cooperation…
As part of broad support to countries’ sustainable energy transition, a field project implemented by UNECE has introduced a cost-effective green technology-solution in rural Kyrgyzstan. A new biogas unit, launched in September 2018, delivers concrete renewable energy solutions for a rural…
Ratification and implementation of the Air Convention and its protocols reduces health and environmental impacts in a more cost-effective way than unilateral action by one country alone. Ratification and implementation also creates economic benefits as harmonized legislation and standards across…