Tag Archives: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has published a report on single-use plastic products (SUPPs) and recommendations for alternatives, based on life cycle assessment (LCA) studies. UNEP defines SUPPs as “an umbrella term for different types of products that are typically used once before being thrown away or recycled,” including food packaging, bottles, straws, containers, cups, cutlery, and shopping bags. Volunteers with Greenpeace ...

For years it appeared as though Lake Turkana, which sits in an arid part of northern Kenya, was drying up. Lake Turkana, Kenya Its main river inflows had been muffled by dams and many feared water levels were poised to drop by two-thirds, causing the lake to cleave into two smaller bodies of water. It was, one report said, an African “Aral ...

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) launched a report on Tuesday, June 15, 2021, addressing the complex issue of single-use plastic products within travel and tourism. Volunteers with Greenpeace Philippines clean up a heavily polluted beach in Manila. Photo credit: DW.com “Rethinking Single-Use Plastic Products in Travel & Tourism” was launched as ...

A Global Methane Assessment released on May 6, 2021 by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) shows that human-caused methane emissions can be reduced by up to 45 per cent this decade. Such reductions would avoid nearly 0.3°C of global warming by 2045 and would be consistent with keeping the goal of ...

People all over the world are on Saturday, May 8, 2021 celebrating the World Migratory Bird Day, a global campaign which aims to raise awareness of migratory birds and the need for international cooperation to conserve them. Migratory birds This year’s theme “Sing, Fly, Soar – Like A Bird!” focuses on the phenomena of “bird song” and “bird flight” as a way to ...

Plastic pollution disproportionately affects marginalised communities and communities living in close proximity to plastic production and waste sites, constituting an environmental injustice, according to a new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and environmental justice non-governmental organisation, Azul. Plastic waste pollution in Akobi Crescent, Lagos, Nigeria The report, titled: “Neglected: Environmental Justice Impacts of Plastic Pollution”, calls for the recognition ...

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has published a report that finds 25% of children’s toys contain harmful chemicals. Old toys such as Lego blocks are said to contain hazardous materials Chemical additives are used in plastic toys and other plastic products to provide specific levels of hardness or elasticity. Many of these chemicals can harm children’s health, according to the study. The ...

The permanent representatives to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) reached agreement on three decisions regarding the future of UNEP’s work on Wednesday, February 17, 2021. Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. Photo credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images The decisions were forwarded to the UN Environment Assembly for consideration at its fifth session and were adopted on the opening day. The decisions ensure that ...

More than half of the population in 34 out of 38 sub-Saharan African nations lacks access to basic hand washing facilities, the inaugural Sanitation and Wastewater Atlas of Africa says. Pupils during the Global Handwashing Day celebrations This is according to a statement jointly issued on Tuesday, February 2, 2021 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire by African Development Bank (AfDB), the ...

The African Development Bank (AfDB), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and GRID-Arendal have released the inaugural Sanitation and Wastewater Atlas of Africa, a tool to benchmark and propel Africa’s progress towards Sustainable Development Goals on safe sanitation and wastewater management. Wambui Gichuri, the AfDB’s Director for Water Development and Sanitation The Atlas aims to help policymakers accelerate change and investment ...