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Transboundary water cooperation
takes centre stage at One Water Summit, showcasing UN
Water
Convention | |
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The One Water Summit,
held in Riyadh on 3 December 2024 and co-organized by
France, Kazakhstan, and the World Bank, in partnership
with Saudi Arabia, brought together leaders and experts
to address global water challenges. Transboundary water
cooperation emerged as a key theme throughout the
high-level discussions, highlighting the urgency of
collaborative water management in achieving sustainable
development. The Summit spotlighted the UN
Water Convention, hosted by UNECE, as a key instrument
for advancing transboundary water cooperation. UNECE
Executive Secretary Tatiana Molcean emphasized that the
costs of inaction are too high, especially when we have
the tools and instruments to act, like the Water
Convention. She further stressed that transboundary
cooperation must remain high on the agenda in upcoming
global processes – notably at the 2026 UN Water
conference – and in the discussions on the post 2030
agenda. The Summit served as a platform to announce
major initiatives aimed at accelerating water action:
the Transboundary Water Cooperation Coalition’s
Knowledge Platform; Freshwater
Challenge; Water Footprint Commitment; and One
Water Vision
Coalition. | | |
Energy
UN Regional Commissions call for
urgent and equitable energy
transition | |
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At the close of the 13th
International Forum on Energy for Sustainable
Development, the UN Regional Commissions issued a
unified call for accelerated global action to achieve an
equitable and sustainable energy future. Convened in
Bangkok, the Forum brought together government leaders,
industry stakeholders, and experts from across five UN
regions — Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin
America and the Caribbean, and Western Asia — to drive
forward coordinated action on clean energy and climate
goals. A statement from the UN Regional
Commissions emphasizes the critical need for swift and
inclusive action to address global energy challenges
while ensuring sustainable energy for all. The statement
emphasizes a commitment to supporting member States in
accelerating renewable energy deployment and improving
energy efficiency, with a goal to triple global
renewable energy capacity and double energy efficiency
improvement rates by 2030, helping member States meet
both SDG 7 and Paris Agreement
objectives. | |
Trade
Uzbekistan signs the National
Trade Facilitation Roadmap with UNECE
support | |
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UNECE Executive Secretary
Tatiana Molcean and the Special Representative of the
President of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the World
Trade Organization (WTO) issues and Chief Negotiator,
Azizbek Urunov, have signed the National Trade
Facilitation Roadmap of Uzbekistan, which will serve as
a strategic framework guiding the country's trade
facilitation reforms over the next five years and
supporting its accession to the WTO envisaged for
2026.The Roadmap was developed using the UNECE
methodology and is aligned with the overall strategy of
the United Nations Special Programme for the Economies
of Central Asia (SPECA), in particular the SPECA Trade
Facilitation Strategy and the SPECA Principles for
Sustainable Trade. It is part of a larger effort to
support Uzbekistan to integrate into and benefit from
the global economy: from fostering innovation and
enhancing agricultural trade through the reduction of
regulatory and procedural barriers to supporting
effective public-private partnerships for enhanced and
resilient infrastructure, noted the UNECE Executive
Secretary. | |
Trade
UN/CEFACT Forum to focus
on sustainable value chains, digital connectivity and
gender-responsive
policies | |
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Amid growing emphasis on
accountability of sustainability claims on goods placed
on markets and the challenge of addressing greenwashing,
reliable and verifiable data have become crucial for
building trust in global value chains. At the same time,
as goods move across multiple borders, the climate
crisis has highlighted the need to examine the role of
digital trade corridors to advance climate-smart
connectivity for cross-border trade operations. Finally,
the current low level of women’s representation and
participation in trade, calls for the exploration of
gender-responsive approaches that can lead to higher
economic gains, innovation, more diverse and resilient
economies, and inclusive growth. These challenges
will be at the heart of discussions at the
upcoming 43rd UN/CEFACT Forum in Rome, Italy,
on 10-12 December 2024, which is closely linked to the
Italian G7 Presidency and its effort to advance
environmental and social sustainability, as well as to
address global economic
disruptions. | |
Industrial accidents
UNECE Industrial Accidents
Convention’s CoP-13 marks 20 years of assistance and
cooperation | |
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Countries from across the
pan-European region have reaffirmed the need for
multilateral cooperation to address major and emerging
industrial safety challenges at the 13th meeting of
the Conference of the Parties to the UNECE Industrial
Accidents Convention (CoP-13), recently held in
Geneva. Industrial accidents know no borders so
their impact on the environment, the economy and society
often extends far beyond the place of origin. By working
together, countries not only strengthen industrial
safety but also their resilience in the face of
disaster, noted Cedric Bourillet,Director of the Risk
Prevention Directorate of the Ministry of Ecological
Transition, Energy, Climate, and Risk Prevention of
France, opening CoP-13, which France co-organized.
Marking the 20th anniversary of the Convention’s
Assistance and Cooperation Programme — which supports
transition economies across Eastern and South-Eastern
Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia in improving
industrial safety —CoP-13 reflected on progress
made and remaining
challenges. | |
Environment
Aarhus Convention
promotes transparent environmental
governance | |
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In a world grappling with
the triple planetary crisis of climate change,
biodiversity loss and pollution, public demand for
transparent environmental governance is growing.
Effective access to reliable information, coupled with
efforts to combat disinformation and greenwashing, is an
important pillar of such governance. To address
these issues, the Task Force on Access to Information
under the Convention on Access to Information, Public
Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice
in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) recently
held its 9th meeting in Geneva, bringing together
representatives of Governments, civil society,
independent review bodies, academia, international
organizations, the private sector and other
stakeholders. The discussions focused on the
dissemination of environmental information through the
use of electronic information tools; access to
environment-related product information; the
transparency of public authorities; and whistle-blower
protection. | |
Saudi Press Agency
UN Official Highlights Importance
of Cross-Border Water
Cooperation | |
Challenge
Sécurité routière: Jean Todt
salue la tenue de la 4è Conférence ministérielle
mondiale au
Maroc | |
L'Arena
Cycling: Uci campaign on road
safety, Pogacar
testimonial | |
T-online
Can be vital: This is what lies
behind the signs on the
truck | |
Executive Body of the
Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air
Pollution
9
- 12 December
2024
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Meeting of the Parties to
the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a
Transboundary Context
10
December 2024 | |
43rd UN/CEFACT
Forum
10 - 12 December
2024 | |
85th meeting of the Aarhus
Convention Compliance Committee
10
- 13 December
2024
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