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The massive use of fertilizers and the production and use of manure in agriculture over the past 100 years have led to significant reactive nitrogen emissions to air and releases to water and land. Burning of fossil fuels (in vehicles, power plants and industry) is another source of reactive…
A recent study published in The Lancet found that almost the whole world's population was exposed to unsafe levels of air pollution in 2019, with only a mere 0.001 percent breathing air that contains fine particulate matter (PM2.5) at concentrations lower than what the World Health Organization…
What are emission inventories and what purpose do they serve? Why is it important to develop emission inventories? If you don’t know the answer to these questions, you might be interested in taking the e-learning course on How to report emissions under the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air…
While companies and stakeholders across industries will not tire to make promises that include their willingness to become more transparent, we still see little actual progress. Research by Deloitte has shown that 65% of procurement leaders across sectors have limited or no visibility beyond their…
While the impacts of air pollution on vegetation and crops are sometimes overlooked, they can take a high toll on food production. As the food and energy crises have recently shown the vulnerability of our food systems, the impacts of air pollution on agricultural yields and food production should…
With climate and biodiversity loss heading the news these days, another problem related to the planet we all share is often forgotten: air pollution. Air pollution has an enormous burden on public health, ecosystems, climate, and ultimately, the economy. Globally, the World Health Organization (…
A dilemma has galvanised the Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) and infrastructure community for some time: How to ensure the bankability of pipelines of sustainable projects in emerging economies. PPP lenders and debt-providers continue to argue that there are not enough bankable projects to…
During its recent mission in Turkmenistan, a UNECE delegation presented a proposal for a new analytical project - “Trade and Innovation for Sustainable Development of Turkmenistan” - to the government and international stakeholders, aimed at supporting the country to enhance innovation governance…
“It's now or never, if we want to limit global warming to 1.5°C”, stated the IPCC authors earlier this year. “Without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, it will be impossible”, they continued.
With worsening climate effects all over the world, all eyes turned to COP27…
The transition from linear to circular economies requires fundamental rethinking of trade policies and regulations. “Harmonized System” codes (HS codes) are a key pillar of the tariff infrastructure for international trade. These HS codes were designed at a time when circular economy considerations…
How to develop projects, initiatives and ideas to build resilient energy systems in Central Asia? This was the focus of the 2nd Almaty Energy Forum, held from 14-16 November at the Kazakh-British Technical University. The Forum, a joint effort of four UN organizations – Economic Commission for…
Armenia has been a pioneer in the use of the Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) model in the Caucasus to improve its infrastructure and public services. In 2000, nine years since its independence, it concluded its first wave of water concession agreements for the provision of drinking water and…
The global economy must be urgently steered away from unsustainable production and consumption patterns, which fuel the climate crisis, deplete natural resources and negatively impact both people and the environment. Global value chains are predominantly linear in nature, and the lack of…
Premature mortality attributable to poor air quality results in high costs. For example, a study by WHO and OECD estimates that in 2010 costs of air pollution related premature deaths in Georgia were at about 9 billion USD. The main sources of air pollution are the transport and agricultural…
Kyrgyzstan has been one of the pioneers of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in Central Asia, with the introduction of a PPP model in its legal and regulatory framework since 2009, and the most recent PPP legislation enacted in 2021. On the back of this PPP experience, the Government has launched…
Standards are in everything that surround us. Just the mobile phone in your pocket uses hundreds of standards, from the cellular network and the cable connectivity to physical elements such as the processing chips and the LED screen, not to mention security testing and the process design. We rely…
The importance of clean air for the quality of our lives has recently been recognised by the United Nations General Assembly. What is more is that in the General Assembly session at the end of July, Member States overwhelmingly adopted a resolution recognising that a clean, healthy and sustainable…
As Ministers from across the UNECE region gather in the Cypriot capital of Nicosia to outline new initiatives to work towards a sustainable and ecological future at the 9th Environment for Europe Conference (5-7 October), the final report on the Batumi Action for Cleaner Air (BACA), adopted 6 years…
Addressing the triple planetary crisis of climate disruption, pollution and nature loss, requires an innovative approach to financing as a way to rapidly and systemically address these interlinked issues. Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) offers a financing mechanisms for infrastructure projects…
Meeting the goals of the UN Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and overcoming the challenges of sluggish economic growth, social exclusion and environmental degradation requires the contribution of both men and women. More-over, many sustainable development challenges affect women more…
The United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC) is now published in Hungarian. This version, alongside recently published editions in Greek and Portuguese, will support policymakers to implement enhanced sustainable resource management in the UNECE region.
UNFC is universally…
Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) - such as lithium, nickel, copper, cobalt, manganese, graphite and rare earth elements - are essential to deliver on the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In the build-up to COP27, UNECE and partners are mobilizing to address the challenges of…
The extreme heat and drought that the region experienced this summer is a bleak reminder that current commitments under the Paris Agreement and those made last year at COP26 are nowhere near what is needed to limit global warming to below 1.5°C. Inaction is a policy choice that will lead to greater…
With the review of the amended Protocol to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-Level Ozone (Gothenburg Protocol) about to enter its final round, expert groups under the UNECE Air Convention are now discussing latest findings to assess the effectiveness of measures.
The amended Protocol…
Building resilient energy systems to address the ongoing global energy crisis will be top of the agenda of the upcoming Sustainable Energy Week (19-23 September). Representatives from UNECE's 56 member States will discuss how to ensure energy for optimal social, economic, and environmental…