#unece

[cleanair4blueskiesday]

Reducing air pollution saves lives and money – it’s time to invest in Clean Air Now.

While the world is gearing up for the summit of the future and the climate COP 29 to find solutions to global crises, another problem related to the planet we all share is often overlooked: air pollution. On International Day of Clean Air for blue skies, celebrated on 7 September every year, we need to speak up for clean air. 

Air pollution has an enormous burden on public health, ecosystems, climate, and ultimately, the economy.  Globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that a staggering 7 million deaths are caused by air pollution every single year.  

More than 40 years on, the cooperation among Parties to the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (Air Convention) has led to remarkable results:  significant emissions reductions (by 50-80% since 1990 in the Pan-European region and North America),  1 additional year of life expectancy, and 600,000 lives saved annually. Tackling some pollutants that are bad for air and climate at the same time, the Convention has also supported integrated approaches for clean air and climate action.  

However, there are many more challenges still to be tackled to reduce air pollution in the region. A report in 2022 on the effectiveness of the Convention’s most recent protocol, the Protocol to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-level Ozone or Gothenburg Protocol, showed that while emission reductions have been achieved, damage to human health, ecosystems and materials remains. Therefore, in 2023, Parties decided in a ground-breaking decision to revise the Gothenburg Protocol, which is expected to further strengthen efforts to reduce air pollution in the region. 

Clean air is a life and money saver 

The latest research on the cost of inaction on air pollution under the Convention has shown the importance of investing in clean air policies. The report shows that business as usual is not an option as it is up to 25 times more expensive than additional clean air policies. While the average cost of an optimal air pollution strategy is estimated to be 0.01–0.02 per cent of GDP, 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 nearly half (26) of 56 countries of the Pan-European region and North America. In at least 6 countries, the damage is more than 10 per cent of GDP. The largest part of the damage cost consists of reduced life expectancy, followed by morbidity costs (e.g., hospital admittance, sick leave, medicine costs), and damage to ecosystems. 

This means that greater action on cleaner air pays off by saving lives and money. The revision of the Gothenburg Protocol is expected to deliver further concrete action to protect ecosystems and human health from air pollution and incentivize Governments in the region to further invest in clean air policies. It’s time to invest in #CleanAirNow. 

About the Air Convention  

The UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution was adopted in 1979. Over the years, it has been extended by eight protocols that identify specific measures to be taken by Parties to cut their emissions of air pollutants. The Convention has 51 Parties, covering North America and almost the entire European continent.  

[coopsday]

Ministerial sessions (Afternoon) - Global Leaders Forum.

14:30 - 14:45 Spotlight intervention

Professor Richard Baldwin, Professor of international economics, International Institute for Management Development

14:45 - 15:30 Panel Dialogue: Reshaping Foreign Direct Investment and Global Value Chains for Development

Speakers:

Kalthoum Ben Rejeb Guezzah, Minister of Trade and Export Development, Government of Tunisia

Sahib Mammadov, Deputy Minister of Economy, Government of Azerbaijan

Nuno Sampaio, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Government of Portugal

Mohammed Alzarooni, Chairman of the Board of Directors, World Free Zones Organization

Moderator:

Tatiana Molcean, Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)

15:30 - 15:45 Spotlight intervention

Mahendra Siregar, Chief of Financial Services Authority, Indonesia

15:45 - 16:30 Panel debate: Catching Up Is Hard: Development Strategies in a World of Cascading Crises

Speakers:

John Mutorwa, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Works and Transport, Government of Namibia

Javier González-Olaechea, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Government of Peru

Marie Paulette Parfaite Amouyeme Ollame Epse Divassa Boffi, Minister of Commerce and SMEs, Government of Gabon

Jean Chrysostome Ngabitsinze, Minister of Trade and Industry, Government of Rwanda

Vladimir Ilichev, Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Government of the Russian Federation

Moderator:

José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Executive Secretary, ECLAC

16:30 - 17:00 Closing session: Forward together

Speaker:

Rebeca Grynspan, UN Trade and Development Secretary-General

17:00 - 17:30: Musical performance - Closing

Related Sites and Documents

Learn more Full programme

UNCTAD's Global Leaders Forum "Charting a new development course in a changing world", 12-14 June 2024. The United Nations Secretary-General, heads of state, ministers, government officials, experts and leading economists will convene to discuss urgent trade and development challenges in an increasingly diverse and challenging global economy.

Watch the Ministerial sessions (Afternoon) - Global Leaders Forum.

[waterandenergyrelief]

4th Session, 5th Joint meeting of WG on Integrated Water Resources Management & Monitoring and Assessment.

The 19th meeting of the Working Group on Integrated Water Resources management and the 19th meeting of the Working Group on Monitoring and Assessment under the Water Convention will be held in Geneva. It will start on Monday, 6 May 2024 at 10.00 a.m., and end on Wednesday, 8 May 2024 at 1 p.m. The meetings of the two Working Groups are held jointly to exploit synergies in the work of the two bodies.

Watch the 4th Session, 5th Joint meeting of WG on Integrated Water Resources Management & Monitoring and Assessment!

[biodiversityday]

Assessment for West Asia.

In this GEO-6 Regional assessment for West Asia, the UNEP Secretariat and the authors provide an objective evaluation and analysis designed to support environmental decision making. Expert judgment is applied to existing knowledge to provide scientifically credible answers to policy-relevant questions. 

[womensjudgesday]

Accelerating policies, partnerships and innovation for just, peaceful and inclusive societies.

Watch the Round Table on SDG 16 - Regional Forum 2024.

SDG 16 Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions - Accelerating policies, partnerships and innovation for just, peaceful and inclusive societies in the UNECE region.

[migrantsday]

High-Level Panel on Regular Migration Pathways.

The Skills Dimension in Realizing Opportunities for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration - The event will pinpoint specific opportunities for leveraging good practices including international cooperation and joint action based on international human rights and labour standards to inform future policy and practice, including for the next IMRF.

Watch the High-Level Panel on Regular Migration Pathways!

[worldcitiesday]

Urban trees support global biodiversity and sustainable societies.

Through its Trees in Cities Challenge (TiCC), UNECE has encouraged mayors from all over the world to implement tree-planting pledges. Nearly 70 cities around the world have already vowed to plant and maintain 13 million trees, committing themselves to urban forestry as an integrative nature-based solution for sustainable development. Joining ICLEI’s CitiesWithNature platform will help reinforce this initiative and widen it across all continents. 

As two thirds of humanity are expected to live in cities by 2050, now is the time for cities and countries around the world to join this commitment to sustainably managing urban forests as we seek to deliver the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, the Paris Agreement, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

[neopronouns]

Can I request a -unnec like term for when you don't identify as/with a label, even though it technically fits you, but out of spite? Like, you explain your complicated gender/orientation to someone, and they're like "oh, so you're just x" and you're like "no <3". Hope that makes sense, lol.

i'm just gonna coin this on the ask since i haven't made general flags for any of my terms like this, so:

-spunec: an identity in which one does not identify as [label], even though it technically describes them, out of spite. because this label was applied to the user by someone else, they do not identify with it.

[pt: -spunec: an identity in which one does not identify as [label], even though it technically describes them, out of spite. because this label was applied to the user by someone else, they do not identify with it. end pt]

'sp' is from 'spite' and 'unec' is shortened from 'unnec'!

@radiomogai

[sevdalidur]

camaat 680balla UNEC yazıre

[xadiiland]

ADNSU-da sürünməyi UNEC-də ölməkdən üstün tuturam

[nigrummblog]

yene 4cu gunler dersim olmayacaq, tsk unec💋

[tutunsenbana]

çox şey istəmirəm ya unec olsun ya bdu lütfen

[ifreakingloveroyals]

6 November 2014 | Crown Princess Mary of Denmark (jewelry detail) as she attends the regional review meeting of the status of women in the UNECE region 20 years after the Beijing platform for action held at the United Nations Office in Geneva, Switzerland. (c) Harold Cunningham/WireImage

[the-arcade-doctor]

-*You get a copy of "homebound" for the nesskendai Unec*-

[ J:\\ HUH. THANKS. ]

[biodiversityday]

Assessment for the Pan-European Region.

The sixth Global Environment Outlook (GEO-6) Assessment for the Pan-European region paints a comprehensive picture of the environmental factors contributing to human health and well-being at the regional level. Backed by a large body of recent, credible scientific evidence, regional-wide... 

[worldcitiesday]

Benefits of Urban trees.

Trees and urban forests can make our cities greener, healthier & happier places to live.

Trees in cities can lower stress and boost our Mental Health.

Do your part to green our cities!