Environment

New research on the Costs of Inaction on air pollution reveals that in nearly half (26) of 56 countries in the Pan-European region and North America, the current monetary damage cost to health, ecosystems and the economy due to ambient air pollution corresponds to over 5 per cent of GDP. In at least 6 countries, the damage is more than 10 per cent of GDP.

A new step was taken by Panama in its process to join the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention) with the organization of a national workshop on 6-7 December, which gathered more than 60 stakeholders to identify priorities for future implementation of the Convention, building on the Convention's 30 years of experience and tools. 

With water stress on the rise in shared river basins and aquifers, over 30 governments and organizations decide to join forces to push for greater cross-border water cooperation. 

Global biodiversity is now declining faster than at any time in human history. As leaders gather for the 15th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP-15, 7-19 December), UNECE calls for the region to urgently step up with the leadership needed to stop biodiversity loss and implement the post-2020 global biodiversity framework that is expected to be adopted at COP-15.   

The United Republic of Tanzania, which shares seven out of its nine river/lake basins with neighboring countries, is taking an important step towards stronger cross-border cooperation for sustainable water management by advancing its accession to the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes as well as the Convention on the Law of Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses.  

“Within three decades, work under the Industrial Accidents Convention has been transformative for the UNECE region, enhancing the protection for humans and the environment and making it an example for transboundary cooperation on accident prevention and preparedness, which can serve as inspiration for other regions to follow”, UNECE Deputy Executive Secretary Dmitry Mariyasin declared at the twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention (CoP-12) (Geneva and online, 29 November – 1 December 2022). 

“Environmental defenders continue to be exposed to significant risks of penalisation, persecution, harassment and even killings. And these risks do not spare the geographical area of the Aarhus Convention, where environmental defenders are facing reprisals, a shrinking civic space, restrictive legal frameworks and strong attacks from companies”, warned the Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders under the Aarhus Convention, Mr.

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) in a transboundary context, along with strategic environmental assessment (SEA), have an important role to play in climate proofing and in helping countries to achieve a sustainable and green post-COVID-19 economic recovery. EIA and SEA are also expected to be of fundamental importance during Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction.