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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…
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…
Experts from Albania and Montenegro met in Shkoder (Albania) on 25 April 2023 to progress with the exchange of information on the shared Cijevna/Cem River. This was the second meeting of the joint technical group on monitoring and assessment established upon recommendation of the Implementation…
Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming more prominent in the world that surrounds us even if it has existed for a good deal of time. The Internet search engines have been using AI to identify articles that correspond with our search, enabling product advertisers to correlate their marketing with…
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…
Prevention of and preparedness for industrial accidents require special attention in Tajikistan, a country with a strong mining industry. The mountainous terrain of mining sites makes them highly susceptible to earthquakes, mudflows and floods, which can provoke Natech events (natural hazards…
Faced with shortages of petrol and diesel since the start of the war in February 2022, and with the rising impacts of the ongoing energy crisis, Ukraine aims at strengthening energy security through the development of renewable energy, notably biofuels and biomass.
Key challenges and…
Significant energy price increases arising from the war in Ukraine are having a negative impact on food production capabilities and costs in Georgia, especially in rural areas. This threatens to weaken the competitiveness of producers and increase their vulnerability to poverty. Reducing energy…
Picture your favorite tree-lined street or childhood park. Now picture it without trees. Would it be the same?
On 30 March, at the Regional Forum for Sustainable Development, UNECE debuted the short film “Why Trees?”, which invites us to reflect on our human connection with the trees around us.…
Young people are emerging as crucial champions for the achievement of the sustainable development agenda of countries in the UNECE region. The ideas and perspectives of new generations, who are acutely aware of the environmental challenges that the world faces, can help shape the policies and…
While many of us have taken pain relievers, we do not always remember that one of the most extensively used medicines in the world – with an estimated annual consumption of 40,000 tons – salicylic acid, commonly known as aspirin, is based on a tree-derived ingredient.
The theme of this year’s…
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…
Adopted in 1963, the UNECE Standard S-1 concerning the certification and commercial quality control of seed potatoes provides a framework for the international trade of seed potatoes. It is currently the only international standard that ensures that seed potatoes meet specific and harmonized…
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…
Industrial safety and the prevention of accidental water pollution were high on Kazakhstan’s agenda this week, with the Second Meeting of the Inter-institutional Working Group on Tailings Safety and the Prevention of Accidental Water Pollution (IIWG).
The meeting brought together more than 60…
In an increasingly digitalized world, full and equal participation in society depends on modern technologies. From work and education to healthcare and staying connected with loved ones, nearly every aspect of daily life has to some degree gone “online”. The critical role of digital technologies in…
Innovation and Technology, which is the focus of this year’s International Women’s Day, presents powerful opportunities for gender equality, and offers welcome hope at a time of great challenges for women’s empowerment. In fact, the regional progress report on the Sustainable Development Goals (…
What value do official statistics offer? The work of National Statistical Offices (NSOs), which produce the headline figures on the economy, population and environment that we see in the news every day, is driven by a conviction that such work is uniquely valuable, playing an essential role in…
This year’s Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (Geneva, 29-30 March 2023) is taking place against the background of multiple crises: the lingering aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic; the war in Ukraine; food, energy and cost-of-living crises; economic downturn; and financial vulnerabilities…
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…