June 7th, 2012 by United Nations Environment Programme
The fifth edition of the Global Environmental Outlook (GEO-5), launched on the eve of the Rio+20 Summit, assessed 90 of the most-important environmental goals and objectives and found that significant progress had only been made in four. These are: eliminating the production and use of substances that deplete the ozone layer, removal of lead from […]
February 19th, 2012 by United Nations Environment Programme
Unsustainable landuse Dramatic improvements in the way the world manages its precious soils will be key to food, water and climate security in the 21st century. According to the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Year Book 2012, 24% of the global land area has already suffered declines in health and productivity over the past quarter […]
December 2nd, 2011 by United Nations Environment Programme
A package of 16 measures, if fully implemented across the globe, could save close to 2.4 million lives annually, avoid crop losses amounting to 32 million tonnes annually and deliver near-term climate protection of about 0.5° C by 2040. Implementing these measures could help keep global temperature rise below the 2° C target, at least […]
November 20th, 2011 by United Nations Environment Programme
A UN report, Towards a Green Economy: Pathways for Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication, demonstrates that governments and businesses alike are taking steps to accelerate a global shift towards a low-carbon, resource-efficient and socially inclusive green future. From China to Barbados, Brazil to South Africa, countries are developing Green Economy strategies and activities to spur […]
June 14th, 2011 by United Nations Environment Programme
Declines in marine and coastal ecosystems due to human activities such as overfishing and pollution could be reversed if organisations, communities and other stakeholders adopt a more integrated approach to managing coastal environments. Closer partnerships between different marine users – such as fishing communities, the tourism industry and conservationists – can also help coastal communities […]
June 6th, 2011 by United Nations Environment Programme
The United Nations Environment Programme report “Decoupling natural resource use and environmental impacts from economic growth” describes three scenarios whereby developed and developing countries consume resources equitably: ‘convergence by 2050’ Scenario 1: Business as usual in developed countries, convergence by others Per capita resource consumption in the industrialized countries remains stable, as it has for […]
May 27th, 2011 by United Nations Environment Programme
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, recycling rates of metals are in many cases far lower than their potential. Less than one-third of some 60 metals studied have an end-of-life recycling rate above 50 per cent and 34 elements are below 1 per cent recycling, yet many of them are crucial to clean technologies […]
May 15th, 2011 by United Nations Environment Programme
By 2050, humanity could consume an estimated 140 billion tons of minerals, ores, fossil fuels and biomass per year – three times its current appetite – unless the economic growth rate is “decoupled” from the rate of natural resource consumption, warns a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme.
May 14th, 2011 by United Nations Environment Programme
Young people want to be a force for change and create their own vision of sustainable development, according to survey of more than 8000 young adults from 20 countries conducted by the United Nations Environment Programme. The study, called the Global Survey for Sustainable Lifestyles, was one of the first global surveys on sustainable lifestyles. […]
April 30th, 2011 by Richard Lord
The Telegraph published a remarkable story on 29 April 2011 about a nine year old boy, Felix Finkbeiner, who started a global tree planting movement with a presentation about planting trees to tackle climate change to his classmates at the Munich International school. His presentation was so engaging that before long he was speaking to […]