Globally, political resistance to assertive climate action remains an enormous barrier to change, despite mounting evidence about the impacts of climate change on people’s well-being and health, said Angel Gurria, secretary general of the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), before an audience of several hundred people in Geneva today. Reframing the climate debate […] Continue reading ->
Sounding a note of ever-increasing urgency, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres told ministers gathered at a Global Preparatory Meeting for the UN Climate Action Summit, in Abu Dhabi that “we are in a battle for our lives” with regards to climate change, which is happening at an even faster pace that what top scientists […] Continue reading ->
Heads of state from the world’s largest economies concluded this year’s G20 Summit in Japan with a general declaration committing to advance global health priorities – but the statement still left much to be desired in terms of concrete goals and targets. In the G20 Osaka Leaders’ Declaration, issued on Saturday at the close of […] Continue reading ->
Leaders of the major UN agencies have issued an appeal to member states to step up their “ambition” and “actions” to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C. Continue reading ->
This year’s World Health Assembly will provide perhaps the best measure to date of the World Health Organization director-general’s policies since taking office nearly two years ago. But it will also reflect changing times for country relationships and for the state of global health. Image Credits: Photo: WHO/Antoine Tardy, WHO/Antoine Tardy, WHO, WHO/J. D. Kannah. Continue reading ->
Loss of biodiversity around the world is happening at an unprecedented rate, damaging ecosystems and threatening grave impacts to human well-being, a new landmark report warns. But it’s not too late to make a difference, it says, through transformative, system-wide change across technological, economic and social factors. Image Credits: IPBES/Yildiz Aumeeruddy-Thomas, IPBES. Continue reading ->
A new State of Global Air/2019 report estimates that average life expectancy worldwide is reduced by about a year and eight months due to exposure to current levels of global air pollution. Image Credits: IHME, IHME/HEI, Rashed Shumon. Continue reading ->
Despite high public interest in severe air pollution episodes, the real long-term health impacts of air pollution are rarely discussed by news and social media in South and Southeast Asia, says a new study on public perceptions of the problem in one of the most dangerously polluted areas of the world. Image Credits: Vital Strategies. Continue reading ->
As posted by UN Environment in a World Environment Day press release: Nairobi, 15 March 2019 – Today, the head of Chinese delegation, Zhao Yingmin, Vice Minister of Ecology and Environment, and Joyce Msuya, Acting Head of UN Environment, jointly announced that China will host the global World Environment Day celebrations on 5 June 2019 with a theme […] Continue reading ->
UN Environment today released its sixth Global Environment Outlook (GEO-6), assessing the state of the environment over the last five years. The report highlights studies published in the scientific press last year estimating that the health benefits of reducing air pollution would be 1.4 to 2.5 times greater than the costs of mitigation. Savings between […] Continue reading ->