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Around 3.6 billion people live in contexts that are highly vulnerable to climate change and many of them are in transboundary basins. Droughts do not recognize borders, pose transboundary risks, and require cooperation to address them. The 6th IPCC assessment (2022) and the IPCC synthesis (2023)…
The global market for second-hand clothing has been multiplied by seven in the last 4 decades. The practice of exporting second-hand clothing from developed to developing countries has been intensified by the boost of the fast fashion industry, impacting the environment, social and human rights in…
Four years ago, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it disrupted the normal functioning of open markets. The ensuing crisis had crippling effects on global trade and productive capacities: it broke supply chains, reduced connectivity and slowed the flow of essential goods. Global food and energy…
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,…
Would you trust artificial intelligence (AI) in your heart? This is not some imaginary, science-fiction scenario. Biomedical companies are already developing pacemakers embedded with AI. Digital technologies like AI are also opening new possibilities such as improved management of natural resources…
Sierra Leone shares four major rivers with the neighbouring countries of Guinea and Liberia, including the Great Scarcies, Little Scarcies and Moa shared with Guinea, and Mano River shared with Liberia. All provide crucial freshwater that sustains ecosystems, livelihoods and the well-being of…
Burkina Faso is one of the Sahelian countries hardest hit by the effects of climate change, experiencing torrential rains and floods, as well as periods of insufficient rainfall.
To help address these challenges, through adaptation, resilience and concerted, shared management of its water…
At the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, UNECE Executive Secretary Tatiana Molcean highlighted the role of UNECE’s legal instruments, standards and tools in dealing with the most pressing global challenges, namely climate change, digital and green transformations, low-carbon energy…
Originally introduced in policy and development discussions in 2011, the water-food-energy-ecosystem nexus approach has evolved into a pivotal framework for sustainable development and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Work on the water-energy-food-ecosystems nexus under the…
Trade facilitation is a potent instrument that can multiply the benefits of trade. Beyond direct impact on economic growth through higher trade flows linked to improved efficiency at the borders, trade facilitation reforms can also contribute to other policy goals. For example, through the…
According to a recently published UNECE Policy Paper, the agrifood, the garment and footwear and the mineral sectors contribute significantly to the economic growth and employment in the UNECE region, while being major sources of global greenhouse gases (GHG) and environmental pollution. Evidence…
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,…
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…
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…
Strong private sector engagement positively impacts the relevance, legitimacy, and credibility of national trade facilitation bodies (NTFBs) and encourages a business-centric approach to trade facilitation. Over the past several years, governments, donors and international organizations have…
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.
As a result of integrated air pollution management strategies developed under the UNECE Convention on Long-range…
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…
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).
With this in mind, under the umbrella of the Regional Collaborative Platform, regional…
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…
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 has improved over the past few decades as a result of…
According to the 2023 Global Circularity Gap Report by the Circle Economy Foundation, transitioning to a circular economy will allow us to fulfil people's needs with only 70% of the materials we currently extract and use. The benefits of the circular economy are tremendous, as it not only addresses…
With a long history of reliance on resource-based industries for growth, countries of the United Nations Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) - Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan - have embraced the power of innovation…
Clothing production has doubled in the past 15 years. In 2018, the fashion industry produced around 2.1 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) – 4% of the world’s total – leading to major environmental, health and social challenges. In 2020 in Europe, textile consumption had the third…
Forest ecosystems in the Caucasus, Central Asia and Eastern Europe are struggling with the complexity of changing climatic conditions, human and natural pressures threatening their vitality and resilience.
To address these challenges and promote sustainable forest management, data on forest…
An estimated 3.6 billion people face inadequate access to water at least a month per year – a figure expected to increase to more than 5 billion by 2050. According to WMO, over 50% of global catchment areas and reservoirs displayed deviations from normal conditions in 2022, of which the majority…