About: UNEP
Global emissions fell by 7% in 2020 due to COVID lockdowns, says UN report
Reduced travel, industrial activity and electricity generation during COVID-19 has meant global emissions fell by up to 7% in 2020, but the impact of COVID-19 will be negligible without a green recovery, according to the United Nations.
Global warming emissions hit new record in 2018, UN says
Temperatures can be expected to rise by 3.2C this century under current national pledges, threatening to bringing "wide-ranging and destructive climate impacts,” international climate experts warned on Tuesday (26 November).
UNEP chief: EU should aim for 55% CO2 reduction by 2030
The European Union needs to revise its 2030 CO2 reduction target from 40% to 55% if it wants to meet the 1.5°C global warming objective of the Paris Agreement, says Joyce Msuya.
UN environment chief resigns amid ‘CO2 hypocrisy’
The UN’s environment chief, Erik Solheim, has resigned following severe criticism of his global travels and internal rule-breaking which led some nations to withhold their funding. EURACTIV’s partner The Guardian reports.
UN Arctic chief: ‘Climate change isn’t linear – it’s accelerating’
Climate change is most evident in the Polar Regions and its impact will serve as a litmus test for what happens to the rest of the planet, the UN’s chief Arctic adviser told EURACTIV in an interview.
Former COP president becomes UN environment rep
Former president of COP21 Laurent Fabius has been named UN high representative for environmental governance, two years after chairing the Paris Agreement negotiations. EURACTIV France reports.
Pollution racks up 9 million deaths a year worldwide
Pollution causes 9 million deaths around the world every year, according to a landmark new study which found that one in six of all deaths are linked to polluted air, water and soil.
World finance must flow towards low carbon infrastructure, G20 ministers told
Focusing development and traditional finance towards low carbon energy efficient infrastructure will fight climate change, help the world meet sustainability targets and boost global economic productivity, the world’s finance ministers have been told.
Food rejected by Europeans provides a feast in Nairobi
The United Nations treated government ministers and officials to a meal of blemished African fruit and vegetables to highlight how perfectly edible food is being rejected by European supermarkets.
Chemical giants push for global green ‘standards’ at Rio
SPECIAL REPORT / Rattled in Europe by the REACH regulation and carbon dioxide emission curbs, international chemical companies are at the Rio Earth Summit determined to push for a global approach to environmental policy – but with a light regulatory touch.
EEB chief: A mixed forecast for the Earth Summit
Jeremy Wates, who heads one of the leading conservation groups in Brussels, says the lack of appetite for binding sustainable development commitments and stronger world environmental governments would contribute to a disappointing Earth Summit.
West African nations pay a price for EU e-waste
Europeans are barred from exporting hazardous electronic waste to other countries, yet research shows there is a flourishing export market of such junk to Africa.