News
Displaying Results 151 - 175 of 187
What is common between the green sovereign bond launched in 2017 by France’s State Treasury, the National Road Map for the Circular Economy of Finland for the period 2016–2025, and the Swiss regulation on compulsory recovery and reuse of phosphorus from wastewater streams and separated organic…
What steps have been taken and what still needs to be done to improve environmental conditions, deliver inclusive economic growth and ensure resilience to climate change? What progress has been made in achieving public participation in decision-making and the reform of education systems towards…
Clean air is an essential need for all of us. Our health, our environment, even our economy depends on it. Every year 7 million people die prematurely globally because of exposure to air pollution. The majority of air pollutant-related deaths occur in developing countries, with Western Pacific…
Reduce deaths from air pollution… Achieve water and sanitation for all… Double energy efficiency… Consume sustainably… These and many other targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to be achieved in just 12 years from now sound more than ambitious. Making them a reality requires…
On 23 May, Chad became the first African country to accede to the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention), serviced by UNECE. As a landlocked country in Central Africa, Chad faces significant water management challenges and…
How can Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs) be used for policies related to, for example, health matters, energy consumption, consumer choices or urban planning? What should be done to make this a reality? What role can PRTRs play in helping governments to achieve the Sustainable…
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…
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…
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…
Sustainable development is high on the United Nations agenda this year. To stand up for sustainable development and environmental protection, UNECE is contributing to World Environment Day celebrations taking place in Geneva from 3 to 5 June 2015. World Environment Day, celebrated annually on 5…
Emissions of air pollutants have been reduced considerably in the UNECE region over the past few decades as a result of integrated air pollution management strategies developed under the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (Air Convention). However, as evidenced by recent…
Countries in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia need to increase water-use efficiency in view of pressures on the subregion’s water resources, in particular from economic development and climate change. Opportunities and challenges to achieve this were at the centre of the debates…
With help from the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), Belarus is currently assessing its legislation with a view to implementing the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment (Espoo Convention) and its Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment (Protocol on SEA).…
The use of nitrogen fertilizers and the combustion of fossil fuels have led to a doubling of the flow of nitrogen compounds around the world in the past 100 years. Nitrogen (N) is important for plant growth and sufficient amounts are needed for plants to achieve optimum crop yields. However,…
While increasing carbon dioxide levels are the dominant factor contributing to climate change in the Arctic, short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) also play a significant role. Targeting SLCPs by reducing black carbon and methane emissions will help to slow Arctic warming in the near term.The…
Algeria and Morocco are currently looking into revising their national legislation on environmental impact assessment (EIA) and strategic environmental assessment (SEA) to reduce the environmental impact of economic activities both nationally and across borders, while ensuring sustainable…
UNECE will be contributing to the Seventh World Water Forum, to be held from 12 to 17 April in Daegu and Gyeongju, Republic of Korea. The Forum, the world’s largest meeting on water, is where the water community — policy and decision makers, parliamentarians, civil society and experts from…
Experts from UNECE member States and the secretariat are visiting Belarus from 17 to 25 March for a field mission in the framework of the third environmental performance review (EPR) of the country. Following today’s plenary meeting, the team will meet governmental officials and representatives…
UNECE has been actively engaged in the preparations of the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (Sendai, 14-18 March). At the conference, UNECE Executive Secretary Christian Friis Bach will showcase at various sessions how UNECE work helps member States reduce disasters risks, build…
Azerbaijan is assessing a draft law on Environmental Impact Assessment prepared with support from UNECE. Following a first round of discussions with all stakeholders (representatives from the relevant Ministries, members of Parliament, local authorities, representatives from NGOs and the private…
Air pollution is a key factor in the degradation of surfaces of historical buildings and monuments. The impact of pollutants emitted into the atmosphere on materials is enormous and often irreversible. Corrosion caused by chemicals and soiling caused by particles can lead to economic losses but…
What is the best way to effectively identify and notify the public concerned about proposed activities affecting the environment? Are countries providing early public participation when all options, including the “zero” option (doing nothing), are genuinely open? Is it right if at public…
A new study led by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) shows that current legislation in Europe, while significantly improving air quality, is insufficient to remove the region’s many pollution hotspots . Hosting a centre for the Co-operative Programme for…
The Executive Secretary will be in Madrid on 23 February to participate in the sixth meeting of the Environment and Health Ministerial Board. On this occasion the Ministers of Environment of Armenia, Montenegro, Portugal and the Russian Federation, who were appointed by the Committee on…
Transboundary water cooperation has the potential to generate a broad range of economic, social and environmental benefits through improved water management. This is widely recognized and most of these benefits can be assessed. But how to assess spill-over benefits from enhanced trust and…