Crashing populations of plants, animals and insects lead fears that the planet is entering its sixth mass extinction. reports on the efforts underway to revive terrestrial and marine habitats.
UNEP
The way food is produced and consumed today results in high rates of food loss and waste. This waste is responsible for an estimated 8-10 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Food loss and waste has other impacts, such as wasted resources, loss of biodiversity and loss of natural ecosystems. All of this happens against a backdrop of rising food insecurity and malnutrition, with some 828 million people around the world suffering from hunger. promotes the massive potential to reduce the emissions of the sector while delivering benefits across the SDGs.
Theres lots of talk about how some countries emit significantly more greenhouse gases than others. But where do these numbers come from? Countries estimate these emissions by using a bottom-up approach - combining data on certain polluting activities with the emissions typically produced by those activities. But greenhouse gas levels are still too high. Global emissions need to fall almost 50% by 2030 if we want to avoid over 1.5 degrees of warming. Learn more in .
's online has over 100 UN tools and guidance documents that can be used to develop and implement air quality management strategies.
On September 7, the UN marked the third International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies. However, the skies are far from clear of air pollution. Only a month ago, the World Health Organization () warned that practically all the air we breathe is polluted, and that its killing around seven million people every year.
Conor Lennon from UN News spoke to Martina Otto and Nathan Borgford-Parnell from the , which is hosted by the UN Environment Programme (). They discussed the evolving science surrounding the issue, the extent to which air pollution is improving if at all and why international collaboration is essential, if the number of annual deaths is to be addressed.
Music: Ketsa, Within the Earth
Audio Credit: UN News/ Conor Lennon
Photo Credit: Unsplash/Malcolm Lightbody
99% of our world is exposed to polluted air causing an estimated 7 million premature deaths every year. This International Day of Clean Air for blue skies, calls on governments, corporations, civil society, and individuals to take action to reduce air pollution and bring a transformative change for the air we share. .
In Africa, on average, people spend up to 56 minutes daily. The danger lies not just on the road, but in the air too. sets out recommendations.
The ozone layer, a fragile shield of gas, protects the Earth from the harmful portion of the rays of the Sun, helping preserve life on our planet. As the treaty turns 35 on Ozone Day, we remember how the Montreal Protocol ended one of the biggest threats ever to face humanity as a whole: the depletion of the ozone layer. When the world found out that ozone-depleting gases used in aerosols and cooling were creating a hole in the sky, it came together and phased out these gases. Now the ozone layer is healing, allowing it to continue to shield humanity from the Suns ultraviolet radiation.
Research shows that lifestyle changes could help the planet . explains what people and policymakers can do to to help secure a healthier planet.
Jacqueline Alvarez, head of the Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, talks about the drivers of peatland wildfires and what can be done to limit their spread next year.
With fossil fuel prices reaching record highs, companies around the world are focusing on energy efficiency to save money and reduce the emissions driving the climate crisis. Research shows that a safe future below 1.5簞C requires the world to cut 30 gigatonnes greenhouse gas emissions (CO2) annually by 2030. Transport and buildings are among the largest contributors. Increasing energy efficiency, particularly industrial energy efficiency, can make a real difference in reducing our need for fossil fuels, according to .
Cities, which occupy just 3 per cent of the Earths land, account for up to 80 per cent of energy consumption and 75 per cent of carbon emissions. Safeguarding urban food security while limiting stress on human and environmental health is a key challenge cities face and urban agriculture may be one of the solutions needed. Read the latest .
A new UN finds that climate change and land-use change are making wildfires worse and anticipates a global increase of extreme fires even in areas previously unaffected.
In this , you will learn about your rights as young people and children and about how your rights are connected to the environment.
50 billion tons: enough to build a wall 27 metres wide and high around planet Earth - sand must be recognised as a strategic resource and its use needs to be rethought, finds a new report by .