20 February 2013: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Global Environmental Alert Service (GEAS) has published the February 2013 issue of its bulletin, which focuses on harmful substances, hazardous waste, and ecosystem management. The newsletter addresses the potential environmental damage caused by dust storms, stressing the need to put in place effective early warning systems.
According to WHO estimates, climate change that has occurred since the 1970s already causes over 140,000 deaths per year[i]. When measuring the health impacts caused by climate change, one need to understand how the main environmental determinants of health (i.e. air, water, food and shelter) are affected by climate change.
8 January 2013: The European Environment Agency (EEA) has announced that clean air will be the focus of EU environmental policy discussions during 2013, the EU Year of Air. The European Commission is reviewing the EU Thematic Strategy on Air Pollution and related policies in 2013.
6 February 2013: The 2013 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum was held on the theme “resilient dynamism” and focused on three pillars: leading through adversity; strengthening societal resilience; and restoring economic dynamism.
January 2013: The UN-Water Decade Programme on Advocacy and Communication (UNW-DPAC) has published its Bimonthly Publications Review, which presents the latest publications from UN agencies and programmes on issues related to water and sanitation from September through January 2012. These publications address a range of issues, such as climate change, child survival, city resilience and cultural diversity.
This meeting will be attended by young people, from the ages of 15-24, and convene under the theme of health and environment.
31 January 2013: In a lecture titled “Empowered Lives; Resilient Nations: Why Health Matters to Human Development,” UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark called for broad, innovative partnerships between development and health practitioners to achieve global health goals.
December 2012: The UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) has released a report, titled “The Impact of Climate Change on Urban Settlements in Colombia,” which finds that the poor face greater exposure to climate change. It stresses that urban adaptation policy has been neglected in Colombia, which has not mainstreamed adaptation in its national policies.
1 February 13: The Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar Convention), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and partners have launched the report "The Economics of Ecosystem and Biodiversity (TEEB) for Water and Wetlands." The report urges a major shift in attitudes towards wetlands, to recognize their value in delivering water, raw materials and food, as well as their role in maintaining people's livelihoods and the sustainability of the world's economies.
28 January 2013: The 20th session of the African Union (AU) Summit met from 21-28 January 2013, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, under the theme of “Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance.” Heads of State from 37 countries discussed a range of issues, including peace and security, maternal health, poverty, malaria, climate change, and the post-2015 development agenda.
| Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) |
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| Conference Reporting Services (CRS) |
