The (UNEP) has announced its 2022 , honouring a conservationist, an enterprise, an economist, a women鈥檚 rights activist, and a wildlife biologist for their transformative action to prevent, halt and reverse ecosystem degradation. ! Since its inception in 2005, the annual Champions of the Earth award has been awarded to trailblazers at the forefront of efforts to protect our natural world. It is the UN鈥檚 highest environmental honour. This year the organization received a record 2,200 nominations.
UNEP
research shows that land-based and marine ecosystems play a vital role in regulating the climate. They currently absorb acting as natural carbon sinks.
The concentration of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere is wreaking havoc across the world and threatening lives, economies, health and food. For over a decade, the has provided a yearly review of the difference between where greenhouse emissions are predicted to be in 2030 and where they should be to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. This year鈥檚 report will provide an update on global emissions pathways and progress towards achieving national mitigation pledges and the Paris Agreement goals. Find out more at today鈥檚 .
A new One Health Joint Plan of Action was launched by , , , and partners. This first joint plan aims to integrate systems to better prevent, predict, detect, and respond to health threats. This initiative seeks to improve the health of humans, animals, plants, and the environment, while contributing to sustainable development. The five-year plan focuses on expanding capacities in six areas: health system capacity, zoonotic epidemics, endemic zoonotic, neglected tropical and vector-borne diseases, food safety risks, antimicrobial resistance and the environment.
Methane: you鈥檝e probably heard of it, but what is it and why is it important to reduce it? Methane is a greenhouse gas mainly emitted from dumpsites, oil and gas wells, coal mines, wetlands and cow burps.
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.
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.
There鈥檚 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 鈥渂ottom-up approach鈥 - 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 it鈥檚 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 鈥 if at all 鈥 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 Sun鈥檚 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.