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Environment Press Releases

Displaying Results 76 - 100 of 328

A decision establishing a rapid response mechanism for the protection of environmental defenders was adopted by the Meeting of the Parties to the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) at its
This week nearly 450 participants from close to 50 countries attended the seventh and fourth sessions of the Meetings of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention (Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters) and to its
Global estimates for financing needs for water-related investments to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 on water range from $6 .7 trillion by 2030 to $22.6 trillion by 2050, according to the OECD. Investments are needed not only to build new infrastructure but also to maintain and operate
Can the oft-shared, yet increasingly scarce and most precious, resource that is water be a source of cooperation, rather than of conflict, among countries? If so, then how? As climate change brings prolonged droughts and more intense floods, how will Governments cope together? More than 20
Ministers from The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Mauritania and Senegal have agreed to establish a legal and institutional framework for cooperation on the Senegal-Mauritanian Aquifer Basin (SMAB), a shared aquifer basin (groundwater reserve) on which 80% of their populations depend. In a context of 
Togo is the fifth country outside the pan-European region to accede to the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention), for which UNECE ensures the Secretariat. This comes as more and more countries – especially in Africa –are
Joining the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention) makes a difference! Parties to the Water Convention constantly advance water cooperation at the basin, subbasin and bilateral levels. The conclusion of at least 10 new
Results of the second Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) report on transboundary water cooperation, published today by UNECE and UNESCO (co-custodian agencies for SDG indicator 6.5.2) on behalf of UN-Water, suggests that not nearly enough operational arrangements for transboundary water cooperation
On 27 July 2021 around 9:40 am, a major explosion at the 480 hectare Chempark in Leverkusen, Germany, shocked the local population within a radius of 40km who heard and felt the detonation – and even beyond that, as the toxic plume was still visible in Dortmund, nearly 80 km away. The explosion
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the European Investment Bank, the financial investment arm of the European Union, have signed today a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen joint efforts to promote economic cooperation, cohesion and to support countries in the
On 16 June, Guinea-Bissau became the 4th African country (45th party) to accede to the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention), whose secretariat is provided by UNECE. It is also a party to the Convention on the Law of the Non-
Despite decades of discussions on the challenges and intersections between gender and transport, progress has been slow in implementing a gender perspective in transport policies. This has been problematic, for example, in urban planning which fails to recognise the different travel patterns 
The COVID-19 pandemic spread around the world at lightning speed, devastating cities and communities and prompting a lockdown. The lockdown period also provided some respite for nature, resulting in memorable sights of ‘nature unlocked’ in our urban habitats. To immortalize such sights and to
Human-caused methane emissions are rising, and must be reduced by 40 to 45 per cent by 2030 to limit global temperature rise to 1.5° C, warned the Global Methane Assessment released last month by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). This
Ghana’s transboundary river basins, namely the Volta River basin (shared with Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Togo – home to over 23 million people, with a population projected to more than double by 2050), Bia and Tano Rivers (shared with Côte d’Ivoire) and Todzie-Aka basin (shared
Today, European countries adopted the Vienna Declaration to spur the transformation towards clean, safe, healthy and inclusive transport and mobility, with a strong focus on promoting cycling across the pan-European region.   The Vienna Declaration was signed at the end of the Fifth High-level
As one of the most sustainable, inclusive, safe, and healthy forms of mobility, cycling received a major boost today with the adoption of the first-ever Pan-European Master Plan for Cycling Promotion at the Fifth High-Level Meeting on Transport, Health and Environment (THE PEP). The Master Plan is
Since 2018, UNECE has been assisting Montenegro in the implementation of the recommendations from the third Environmental Performance Review (EPR) carried out in 2015.  Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, activities have been adapted, with funds being redeployed to support the
Localizing the Sustainable Development Goals at the urban level is crucial to deliver on the 2030 Agenda, stresses UNECE in a new report that advocates for a “cities-based” and “people-smart” approach to sustainable development.   With cities today as the driving force in economic, social, and
The use of material resources, fuelled by economic and population growth, urbanisation and societal changes, has increased more than ten times since 1900 and is set to double again by 2030. The annual global extraction of materials has increased from 27 to 92 billion tonnes since 1970, while the
More robust monitoring and measuring systems are required to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to a UNECE report on Measuring and Monitoring progress towards SDGs that uses a “nexus” approach to chart a course for more “joined up” activities.  High-quality statistics are
Countries of the Pan-European region can seize the COVID-19 recovery as a turning point for green and healthy transport and mobility as a foundation to build a better future for all, urges a UN Task Force.   Bringing together over 50 experts from member States, international institutions, academia
Across the world, 153 countries share rivers, lakes and aquifers. Transboundary basins cover more than half of the Earth’s land surface, account for an estimated 60 per cent of global freshwater flow and are home to more than 40 per cent of the world’s population. Transboundary water cooperation is
Industrial accidents at tailings management facilities (TMFs) - which handle and store the fine-grained waste materials remaining after extracting minerals and metals from the earth, often containing toxic and hazardous substances - have resulted in devastating effects on humans and the environment
Albania and Montenegro have agreed to establish a joint technical working group on “Monitoring & assessment” and to develop and implement an information exchange protocol to operationalize their cooperation on the shared Cijevna/Cem River basin. These are the outcomes of joint consultations