Tag: UNEP

UNEP’s Intergovernmental Council for Buildings and Climate launches at COP29

Stuart Mitchell

The UNEP-hosted Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC) announced the establishment of the Intergovernmental Council for Buildings and Climate (ICBC) today in Baku.  Launched at the Ministerial Meeting on Urbanization and Climate Change at COP29, with UNEP’s GlobalABC as its secretariat, the ICBC is a significant step toward implementing the Chaillot Declaration. The ministerial declaration is a collaborative global policy framework launched in March 2024 – and endorsed by more than 70 countries – that engages stakeholders across the buildings sector in climate action.   Responsible for 37 per…

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New air quality management platform to support global clean air action

Stuart Mitchell

Ahead of this year’s International Day of Clean Air and blue skies, the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) has developed and launched an Air Quality Management Exchange Platform (AQMx) designed to help air quality professionals everywhere tackle air pollution. The platform is a one-stop-shop that provides the latest air quality management guidance and tools proposed to meet WHO Air Quality Guidelines interim targets. Air pollution knows no borders, and with 99 percent of the global population breathing polluted air, the fight against it involves everyone. This silent and invisible killer is causing more than 8…

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$8 Trillion Opportunity in Sustainable Cooling Solutions for Developing Economies – IFC and UNEP Report

Stuart Mitchell

The cooling market in developing economies is expected to grow from around USD 300 billion to at least USD 600 billion, per year by 2050, according to a report released by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)-led Cool Coalition and International Finance Corporation (IFC). The fastest growth in cooling is expected in Africa, which will see the market multiply by a factor of seven, and South Asia, which will quadruple in size. The report calls for prioritising passive, energy-efficient, environmentally friendly, and economically viable cooling solutions. The report, “Cooler Finance: Mobilizing…

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Some chemical pollutants reducing in humans and the environment, but new ones keep popping up

Stuart Mitchell

A comprehensive global study of POPs – health-endangering chemicals that stay in the environment over decades and longer – confirms they persist in human milk, air, water, soil, food and various ecosystems. The study, implemented by UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), stresses the importance of POPs monitoring, caution in introducing alternatives, and addressing gaps in awareness and regulation.  The study was conducted across 42 countries in regions where data on POPs is limited, including Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the…

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World must move beyond waste era and turn rubbish into resource: UN Report

Stuart Mitchell

With municipal waste set to rise by two thirds and its costs to almost double within a generation, only a drastic reduction in waste generation will secure a liveable and affordable future, according to a new UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report.   Titled “Beyond an age of waste: Turning rubbish into a resource,” the UNEP Global Waste Management Outlook 2024 (GWMO 2024) provides the most substantial update on global waste generation and the cost of waste and its management since 2018. The analysis uses life cycle assessments to explore what the world…

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