Environment – UN News Centre

Since the 1980s, a UN Environment Programme (UNEP) convention to deal with pollution issues affecting the wider Caribbean region. Since then, the climate crisis has been added to the risks facing the region. Christopher Corbin, the acting coordinator for the UNEP Cartagena Convention Secretariat, told UN News that the focus of the Convention is shifting from policy to local action.

Scientific evidence shows that overexposure to UV radiation is the major cause of skin cancer. To help people protect themselves adequately, a consortium of UN agencies on Tuesday, launched an innovative new App that can help anyone, anywhere, determine the safe amount of time to stay outdoors, soaking up the rays. 

The ocean holds the keys to an equitable and sustainable development path for all. This is the premise behind the UN Ocean Decade and it will be in the spotlight during several major international summits this year to promote ocean health, including the UN Ocean Conference, which is set to open soon in Lisbon, Portugal.

Sweltering conditions in Europe have come earlier than expected this year but the bad news is, they’re the shape of things to come.

The current global economic paradigm of infinite growth based on using up a finite amount of resources, such as fossil fuels, will only deliver a “permanent triple whammy of inflation, climate chaos and conflict”, the UN chief warned on Friday.

New funding from governments for fossil fuel exploration or production is simply “delusional” the UN chief warned on Tuesday, adding that it would only “further feed the scourge or war, pollution and climate catastrophe.”

A social media campaign launched on Monday by the United Nations aims to bring the world closer to preventing a decaying supertanker, anchored off Yemen, from causing an oil spill that could spell disaster for the region and beyond. 

At first, they look like bright spots of white casting shadows on a lush green lawn. As the drone camera swoops into the sky, it becomes clear that these are people – more than 200 students from half a dozen different countries – lining up to spell out a clear message to the world: SAVE OUR OCEANS. 

Ensuring a healthy and productive ocean that serves the whole planet, is a “collective responsibility” that can only be fulfilled by working together, the UN chief told an celebratory event marking World Oceans Day on Wednesday.

World Oceans Day marked on 8 June, reminds us of the significant role oceans have in everyday life. Moreover, the 2022 theme – Revitalization: collective action for the ocean – underlines the importance of acting together to save our ocean.

The annual UN Climate Change Conference in the German city of Bonn began on Monday, designed to lay the groundwork for a successful COP27, due to take place in the Egyptian coastal resort of Sharm-el-Sheikh, in November.

The Stockholm+50 environment conference came to a close on Friday with a call for real commitments to urgently address global environmental concerns, and for a just transition to sustainable economies, that work for all.

“This planet is our only home”, Secretary-General António Guterres said in his message for World Environment Day, to be marked this Sunday, warning that the Earth’s natural systems “cannot keep up with our demands”.  

Mental health support must be included in national responses to climate change, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a new policy brief, launched on Friday at the Stockholm+50 environmental summit. 

There’s no doubt that food loss and waste, has been undermining the sustainability of our food systems. In an effort to counter this, some small businesses around the world are putting the focus on new sustainable waste management practices.

Global wellbeing is at risk – and it’s in large part because we haven’t kept our promises on the environment – UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Thursday.

From climate and environment themed videogames to special features, pop-ups, and real-life tree-planting opportunities embedded within beloved classics like PAC-MAN or Angry Birds, the gaming industry is working with the United Nations to engage audiences like never before and inspire a new wave of climate action.

It’s been five decades since Sweden hosted the world’s first conference to make the environment a major issue, in recognition of the “human sacrifice zone” it could become, if we fail to look after it, according to UN human rights experts. On Monday, ahead of fresh discussions in Stockholm this week to discuss further action, the experts warned that much greater efforts are needed which could save millions of lives every year.

The Ocean is the planet’s largest ecosystem, regulating the climate, and providing livelihoods for billions. But its health is in danger. The second UN Ocean Conference, due to take place in June, will be an important opportunity to redress the damage that mankind continues to inflict on marine life and livelihoods.

More countries must “think resilience”, and urgently adopt and improve early warning systems to reduce risks from an increasing number of disasters across the world, a UN disaster forum concluded on Friday.

The world will experience 1.5 medium to large-scale disasters every day through the end of the decade, unless countries ramp up action on prevention and risk reduction, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said in Bali, Indonesia, on Wednesday.

In their red school uniforms, with backpacks on their heads to protect from falling debris, More than 200 students and teachers from Tanjong Benoa Elementary School on the Indonesian island of Bali, filed calmly up three flights of stairs to the rooftop of a hotel, close to their classrooms.

Today’s college graduates can become the generation to succeed “where my generation has failed” the UN chief said on Tuesday, urging the class of 2022, not to work for “climate wreckers” in industries that continue to profit from fossil fuels.

Over-consumption in the world’s richest countries is creating unhealthy, dangerous, and toxic conditions for children globally, according to a new report published on Tuesday by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).  

A portable solar generator in a black case, and an eggplant grown in organic soil, were among the diverse items that a group of young climate leaders in Jakarta shared with the UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed this weekend, embodying their own personal inspiration, and efforts to advance the fight against climate change.

Three-quarters of the land-based environment and about 66% of the marine environment have been significantly altered by human actions. On the International Day for Biological Diversity, the UN Secretary-General urged to end the ‘senseless and destructive war against nature’.

Climate change is set to increase pressure significantly on people’s access to water and sanitation unless governments do more to prepare key infrastructure now, the UN warned on Friday.   

A record 59.1 million people were displaced within their homelands last year, or four million more than in 2020, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Thursday, citing the latest Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID). 

Greenhouse gas concentrations, sea level rises, ocean heat levels and acidification, all set new records during 2021, while some glaciers reached the point of no return, according to the latest flagship report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), published on Wednesday.

Governments, cities, companies, and communities around the world are taking action to address a significant and growing threat to wildlife, including many species of migratory birds - light pollution.