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In North Macedonia, assisting households to make investments in green technologies not only supports climate action, but also helps them save on energy costs and improves living standards.
To support this aim, UNECE, UNDP, and IOM organized a Capacity Building Workshop in Skopje on the design of…
In an important move to secure the supply of essential raw materials, the European Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) entered into force on 23 May 2024. This legislation is a cornerstone in enhancing the EU's capabilities in sourcing, processing, and recycling critical raw materials (CRMs), which…
Addressing ministers at the 2024 International Transport Forum Summit (ITF24) in Leipzig, UNECE Executive Secretary Tatiana Molcean recalled that 152 United Nations Member States are contracting parties to at least one of the 61 transport conventions hosted by UNECE. These legal instruments help to…
Extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change increasingly threaten the ability of countries worldwide, including those in the UNECE region, to sustain safe, reliable, and equitable transport and mobility.
Adapting to future impacts of climate change is therefore no longer a concern to be…
With its strong mining industry, mountainous areas and high seismic hazards, prevention and preparedness for disasters and climate change adaptation are high on Tajikistan’s agenda. In particular, the increasing frequency and severity of weather events due to climate change can undermine the safety…
Preventing accidental water pollution remains a key challenge for many countries within and beyond the UNECE region. Approximately 60% of the world’s freshwater flows occur in transboundary river basins where 40% of the world’s population live. Countries rely increasingly on transboundary water…
Critical minerals are essential for the energy transition as are intergenerational equity in resource management and the engagement of youth. With this in mind "Critical Minerals for the Sustainable Energy Transition: A Guidebook to Support Intergenerational Action” was launched today at the UNECE…
The raw materials sector is at the forefront of global challenges and opportunities of the 21st century, as it plays a vital role in the energy, transport, and digital transitions required to mitigate and adapt to climate change. However, the sector also faces significant pressures from consumers,…
The impact of different air pollutants on vegetation and crops has been studied for over 35 years in the framework of the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, through its International Cooperative Programme on Effects of Air Pollution on Natural Vegetation and Crops (ICP…
In recent years, Montenegro and its capital city, Podgorica, have been committed to accelerate sustainable and smart urban development through a variety of ambitious national and regional and local measures, such as digitalization of public services, modernization of public transport, and to…
The transport sector is responsible for 23% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with road transport accounting for around 77% of these emissions. As populations, economies, and the need for mobility grow, the World Bank estimates that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transport could increase by…
Ensuring the principles of environmental democracy are upheld in relation to modified organisms/genetically modified organisms (LMOs/GMOs) can help countries to address biodiversity loss and support progress on a number of Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Goals 2 (zero hunger), 15 (life…
Cooperation and management of transboundary waters, which span over 45% of the world's surface and serve as vital resources for nearly half of the global population, face the imminent threat of underfunding. The last reporting exercise on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) indicator 6.5.2 (2020),…
UNECE and partners are working together to support North Macedonia in its green energy transition by building capacities to finance energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE) projects.
To this end, UNECE and UNDP organized two training sessions on design and verification of energy…
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,…
As countries seek to rapidly decarbonize their economies, investing in energy efficiency and the improved performance of buildings offers significant near term gains. Available measures can help transform the building and construction sector, which today is responsible for approximately 40% of…
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. The Act, on which the European Parliament and the European Council reached a provisional agreement on 13 November,…
Taking up some of the main results of the recent review report, which assessed the effectiveness of the amended Protocol to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-Level Ozone (Gothenburg Protocol) under the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, experts discussed…
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…
As the global economy emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic and governments strengthen efforts to “build-back-better”, trade as an engine of growth has re-emerged in policy agendas. For developing countries and countries with economies in transition that are still in the process of accession to the…
Over two-thirds of Togo’s water resources are shared, notably through the Mono River basin (shared with Benin) and Volta River basin (shared with Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Mali), as well as aquifers in the coastal sedimentary basin (shared with Ghana, Benin and Nigeria).
In a…
To address the conclusions of the review of the amended Protocol to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-Level Ozone (Gothenburg Protocol), as adopted by the Executive Body to the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution in December 2022, further work is currently being…
Mining is an important sector and economic contributor in Central Asian countries due to their rich mineral base. However, the mining activities also generate huge amount of waste which can contain hazardous substances and must be safely stored in so-called tailings management facilities (TMFs).…
How can regional and international cooperation be fostered in a region that faces unprecedented water scarcity? How can the benefits of this vital resource be shared to increase resilience to climate change?
The Third Baghdad International Water Conference titled "Water Scarcity, the Mesopotamian…
Uzbekistan is one of the world's largest producers of gold and uranium. In the last 40 years, Uzbekistan has built a strong mining industry, which is expected to grow in the years to come, given that only 20 % of the country’s territory has yet been explored. The expected rise in the number and…