News
Director-General in Saint Petersburg to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the State Hermitage Museum
From 6 to 8 December, UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova, will undertake a visit to Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation, on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the State Hermitage Museum where the Director-General will highlight the longstanding support of UNERSCO to the State Hermitage and the importance of museums as spaces for dialogue and mutual understanding.
UNESCO is associated with the commemoration of the Hermitage’s anniversary by the resolution of the 37th session of the General Conference.
Road to Dignity by 2030: UN chief launches blueprint towards sustainable development
Calling for inclusive, agile and coordinated action to usher in an era of sustainable development for all, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today presented the United Nations General Assembly with an advance version of his so-called “synthesis report,” which will guide negotiations for a new global agenda centred on people and the planet, and underpinned by human rights.
“Next year, 2015, will herald an unprecedented opportunity to take far-reaching, long-overdue global action to secure our future well-being,” Mr. Ban said as he called on Member States to be “innovative, inclusive, agile, determined and coordinated” in negotiating the agenda that will succeed the landmark Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the UN-backed effort to reduce extreme poverty and hunger, promote education, especially for girls, fight disease and protect the environment, all by 2015.
Spotlighting humanity’s ‘silent ally,’ UN launches 2015 International Year of Soils
Healthy soils are the foundation for food, fuel, fibre and even medicine said the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today as it kicked off 2015 the International Year of Soils on the first-ever World Soil Day.
Soils are also essential to our ecosystems, playing a key role in the carbon cycle, storing and filtering water, and improving resilience to floods and droughts, and yet we are not paying enough attention to this important “silent ally,” the UN agency explained.
How can extractive industries help achieve the Post-2015 Agenda?
The role of extractive industries in promoting sustainable economic growth and employment generation, through synergies with governments and civil society, is being discussed this week in Brasilia.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is facilitating this dialogue to help identify new or more inclusive approaches to reduce poverty, hunger and inequalities, to promote the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Mountains provide early warning of climate change
Mountainous regions are the birthplace of the globe’s largest rivers. Their reputation as global water towers is well deserved, as 40% of the world’s population rely indirectly on mountain resources for drinking water, irrigation, and hydroelectricity.
Their ecosystems are among the most sensitive to climate change and are being affected at a faster rate than other terrestrial habitats, which could have severe consequences for water provision and livelihoods in downstream regions.
UN official sees upcoming Lima climate talks as ‘stepping stone’ for universal treaty
As Governments prepare to meet for the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Lima, Peru, starting on Monday, a top UN official has highlighted the session as an opportunity to raise immediate awareness on climate change and lay the foundation for a new universal agreement to be adopted in 2015.
“Never before have the risks of climate change been so obvious and the impacts so visible. Never before have we seen such a desire at all levels of society to take climate action. Never before has society had all the smart policy and technology resources to curb greenhouse gas emissions and build resilience,” said Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in a press release today.
Lima conference set to ‘write history’ ahead of 2015 climate deadline, UN official says
The international community “must write history” on climate action and build momentum towards a new universal agreement to be adopted in 2015, a senior United Nations official declared today as she opened a two-week UN climate conference held in Lima, Peru.
“2014 is likely to be the hottest year on record and emissions continue to rise. We must act with urgency,” Christiana Figueres, the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), warned in her opening address earlier this morning to the 20th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 20) to the landmark treaty.
Launch of the Food, Energy, Environment and Water (FE²W) Network
A new network focused on achieving food, water and energy security was launched today at UNESCO Headquarters by the International Hydrological Programme (UNESCO-IHP) and the Australian National University (ANU)-UNESCO Chair in Water Economics and Transboundary Water Governance.
The Food, Energy, Environment and Water (FE²W) Network is ‘bridging the silos’ across the fields of food, energy, environment and water, which are essential to human wellbeing and to environmental health, to improve living conditions worldwide.
