News
Displaying Results 26 - 50 of 149
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…
Central Asia has significant untapped potential to decarbonize its energy systems and accelerate the sustainable energy transition, including through renewable energy development and enhanced resource management. To help the region capitalize on these opportunities, UNECE, the United Nations…
UNECE support for the revision of the Georgian Mining Code Act is shaping the future of resource classification and estimation standards in Georgia. During a workshop in Tbilisi participants discussed how Georgian standards could play a crucial role in harmonizing with the global dimensions of the…
The Asia-Pacific region is home to some of the world's largest and most diverse reserves of minerals, energy, water, and biomass. The region accounts for around 70% of global mining production and consumption, including most of the world's bauxite, copper, iron, nickel, silver, tin, and zinc. …
Sound emission inventories are the first step for designing effective clean air policies as they provide information about the main sources and the most acute air pollution problems in a country.
Under the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (Air Convention), UNECE has therefore…
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…
The 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, have triggered further discussions among…
Breathing clean air is a necessity for everyone and decent air quality is a shared responsibility that can only be achieved if we work together. This is what Member States in the UNECE region realized 45 years ago, when they started negotiating the first multilateral, legally binding treaty to cut…
The public and civil society have a crucial role to play in tackling key environmental challenges. To make the most of this potential, continued efforts are needed to uphold their rights to shape environmental decision-making.
To this end, the Working Group of the Parties to the Convention on…
The Norwegian Government has issued a Mineral Strategy which necessitates the Geological Survey of Norway to produce an inventory aligned with the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC).
UNFC will be crucial in this strategy as it will be used to classify mineral resources…
While underground coal mining in Albania stopped almost wholly (except for two private mines with a very insignificant output) more than 15 years ago, the abandonment of the mines from the 1990s onwards with no proper plans for closure has left a legacy of risks. These include water contamination,…
For some time now, Uzbekistan has been engaged in various activities under the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention).
An international round table entitled “Aarhus Convention: Effective…
For many people around the world, the work and achievements of the United Nations remain in the realms of grand summits of heads of state on pressing global issues, of diplomatic brokering of peace agreements, of urgent humanitarian interventions for people in the greatest need, and other high-…
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…
Representatives from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan met at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) to discuss ways to unlock the resource potential and promote a sustainable future in Central Asia. The meeting was part of the UNECE Resource Management Week 2023…
Research on and monitoring of the effects of air pollution on different environmental media and health has been carried out for more than four decades under the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution. The data and research that has emerged from these efforts is unique as it…
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…
Air pollutants are not only harming human health and the environment but are also degrading surfaces of historical buildings and monuments. Corrosion and soiling of cultural heritage sites as a result of air pollution can lead to severe economic losses as a result of high maintenance and…
Originally published as a guest article by IISD’s SDG Knowledge Hub.
How can we rescue the vision of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and get in shape for Our Common Agenda for 2050? Part of the way forward is without doubt to embrace the digital and green transitions.
As we heard…
Young professionals from industry, academia, and civil society came together to discuss and explore solutions for sustainable resource management at the UNECE Resource Management Week 2023. Hosted by the UNECE Resource Management Young Member Group (RMYMG), the highly interactive session provided a…
In a move towards sustainable resource management, several countries have presented case studies of how the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC) can scale-up harmonized resource management. UNFC provides a common language and standards for the classification of all energy…
Countries are increasingly facing multiple interlinked environmental, social, economic and health challenges – climate change, pollution from chemicals and wastes, biodiversity loss and species extinction, deforestation, land degradation, emerging zoonotic diseases, and the impact of armed…
Halfway to 2030, the future we want seems to be still well out of reach. The 2023 SDG progress report for the UNECE Region, which informed discussions at the inclusive and 1000-strong Regional Forum on Sustainable Development held last week, showed that despite some bright spots, we face a troubled…
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…