Search results for ""Author United Nations Economic Commission for Europe""

The Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention), hosted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), requires Parties to establish and implement joint programmes for monitoring transboundary waters, to carry out joint or coordinated assessments of the conditions of transboundary waters and to exchange data and information to enable sustainable management and protection of shared water resources. The Updated Strategies for Monitoring and Assessment of Transboundary Rivers, Lakes and Groundwaters provide strategic guidance on monitoring, assessment and data sharing in a transboundary context, building on the global experience on these issues. The publication is intended to assist policy and decision makers, representatives of joint bodies for transboundary water cooperation, and water managers responsible for establishing and carrying out cooperation between riparian countries, in operationalising cooperation over transboundary waters. It aims to contribute to the effective implementation of the Water Convention and improved transboundary water cooperation worldwide

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Energy underpins the development of economies and most of the goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda). The energy sector plays a critical role in finding solutions for both sustainable development and climate change mitigation. Since the universal agreement on the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including the goal on sustainable energy SDG 7 in 2015, countries have commenced with the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. However, at this stage, there is a gap between the agreed energy and climate targets and the strategies and systems that are being put in place today to achieve them. Accelerated and more ambitious strategies and policies will be needed to fill the persistent gaps to achieve the 2030 Agenda, and in particular, energy will need to play an increasing role across various SDGs. If gaps are not addressed urgently, more drastic and expensive action will be required to avoid extreme and, potentially, unrecoverable adaptation measures. Currently, there are many different interpretations of what is “sustainable energy”. Countries in the region of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) have not yet agreed on a collective pathway to achieve energy for sustainable development. For the ECE region there is an important opportunity to explore the implications of different sustainable energy pathways and to work together on developing and deploying policies and measures to attain the 2030 Agenda. This is why the Committee on Sustainable Energy (the Committee) initiated this flagship project “Pathways to Sustainable Energy” (the project). The objective of the project is the development of strategies and actions to ensure the attainment of sustainable energy in the ECE regionThe project's goal is to strengthen the knowledge and capacities of countries to develop, implement and track national sustainable energy policies aligned with their commitments on climate change and sustainable development, and to understand the objectives and actions of other countries. The project aims to contribute concretely to climate change mitigation and sustainable development

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The safety guidelines and good practices aim to support governments, competent authorities and operators in minimizing the risk of fire and safely retaining firefighting water. They are intended to enhance existing practices and promote harmonized safety standards for firefighting water management and retention, in order to prevent accidental pollution of soil and water, including pollution that could cause transboundary effects. The guidelines were developed by the Joint Expert Group on Water and Industrial Accidents - a joint group between the Water and Industrial Accidents Conventions – in cooperation with the Expert Group on Fire-water Retention and supported by the UNECE secretariat.

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The Model Regulations cover the classification of dangerous goods and their listing, the use, construction, testing and approval of packagings and portable tanks, and the consignment procedures (marking, labelling, placarding and documentation). They aim at ensuring a high level of safety by preventing accidents to persons and property and damage to the environment during transport and, providing at the same time, a uniform regulatory framework which can be applied worldwide for national or international transport by any mode.

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The Manual of Tests and Criteria contains criteria, test methods and procedures to be used for classification of dangerous goods according to the provisions of Parts 2 and 3 of the United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, Model Regulations, as well as of chemicals presenting physical hazards according to the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). As a consequence, it supplements also national or international regulations which are derived from the United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods or the GHS. At its ninth session (7 December 2018), the Committee adopted a set of amendments to the sixth revised edition of the Manual as amended by Amendment 1. This seventh revised edition takes account of these amendments. In addition, noting that the work to facilitate the use of the Manual in the context of the GHS had been completed, the Committee considered that the reference to the “Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods” in the title of the Manual was no longer appropriate, and decided that from now on, the Manual should be entitled “Manual of Tests and Criteria"".

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Effective and efficient housing management is important to support the implementation of key UN agreements, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the New Urban Agenda and the Geneva UN Charter on Sustainable Housing. Efficient housing management results in economic benefits and decent housing conditions for inhabitants of condominiums. Housing management, through housing refurbishment programmes, protects the environment and contributes to decrease in greenhouse gas emissions, which supports the efforts of governments and stakeholders to address climate change.

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This publication capitalizes on the findings and lessons learned so far from the work on equitable access to water and sanitation under the UNECE / WHO Regional Office for Europe Protocol on Water and Health. It features the experiences of eleven countries from the pan-European region that have established baseline measures of their situation with regard to equitable access to water and sanitation. This was achieved through multi-stakeholders' self-assessment processes by looking at geographical disparities, specific barriers faced by vulnerable and marginalized groups, affordability concerns, as well as the governance framework.

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The ATP Handbook comprises the ATP Agreement itself and its Annexes with comments added where appropriate for clarification or additional explanation of the text. Comments contained in the ATP Handbook are not legally binding for Contracting Parties of the ATP. They are, however, important for the interpretation, harmonization and application of the Agreement as they reflect the opinion of the Working Party on the Transport of Perishable Foodstuffs of the Inland Transport Committee of the Economic Commission for Europe

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Increasing demand for natural resources, most of which are not renewable, changing climates and technologies, urbanisation, growing populations, societal demand and inequalities, globalisation and other megatrends are putting pressure on natural resources. There are many complex policy issues and difficult choices to be made, which necessitate a comprehensive nexus approach that can address the many interactions and trade-offs involved. This publication reviews the situation, trends, challenges and main interactions for the five natural resources of the nexus - water, energy, food, land and materials. Three interlinkages which are very relevant to the Natural Resource Nexus, namely, statistics, transport and trade, both of which are addressed by the UNECE

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Mobility and connectivity are powerful catalysts for sustainable development. Nurturing innovation, mobilizing partnerships and capitalizing on the potential of new technologies can drive cross-cutting the progress of Sustainable Development Goals. In the geographically diverse UNECE region, which includes some of the world's richest countries as well as a number of economies in transition, UNECE is uniquely positioned to support harmonization and value creation processes as part of efforts to strengthen smart connectivity and advance sustainable mobility for its Member States. In an increasingly interconnected world, UNECE's norms, standards, guidelines and conventions are also widely used globally

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Leading, composite and sentiment indicators offer a powerful way of communication of statistical information and reaching out to users of statistics. The indicators can provide relevant and timely information on aspects of the economy and the social society that are not covered by other statistics. They can also provide information on complex phenomena in simple and condensed form, for instance on the current or expected economic development or on the well-being or sense of happiness of the citizens. These Guidelines provide guidance to statistical offices on their possible roles in developing and producing leading, composite and sentiment indicators and give practical and operational guidance to statistical offices that produce or consider producing these indicators. Existing examples of good practice are also referenced

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The Manual of Tests and Criteria contains criteria, test methods and procedures to be used for classification of dangerous goods according to the provisions of Parts 2 and 3 of the United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, Model Regulations, as well as of chemicals presenting physical hazards according to the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). As a consequence, it supplements also national or international regulations which are derived from the United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods or the GHS.At its ninth session (7 December 2018), the Committee adopted a set of amendments to the sixth revised edition of the Manual as amended by Amendment 1. This seventh revised edition takes account of these amendments. In addition, noting that the work to facilitate the use of the Manual in the context of the GHS had been completed, the Committee considered that the reference to the "Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods" in the title of the Manual was no longer appropriate, and decided that from now on, the Manual should be entitled "Manual of Tests and Criteria".

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Considerable progress in energy efficiency in the building sector is reported in the majority of the UNECE member States, and still reaching the potential often falls short due to flawed policy frameworks, and lack of public awareness on available modern technologies and education on long-term economic and social benefits of energy efficiency improvement. This publication is prepared in response to the outlined challenges and aims to elucidate the status of implementation of energy efficiency standards in buildings and deployment of appropriate technologies, and to identify good policy practices and replicable solutions. It also proposes a set of general recommendations and priority actions arising from the analysis.

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The Guidelines are a practical reference document on approaches to evidence-based policy-making for policy-makers involved in development and implementation of policies on housing and urban development at all levels of governance. The Guidelines can be used at all stages of the policy making – from agenda setting and policy formulation to the implementation/review and evaluation. Application of these Guidelines is an important resource for the analysis of the approaches to review the progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), especially SDG 11

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This publication assesses progress made by individual countries in reconciling their economic and social development with environmental protection, as well as in meeting international commitments on environment and sustainable development. It assists countries in improving their environmental policies by making concrete recommendations for better policy design and implementation. It helps integrate environmental policies into sector-specific policies such as those in agriculture, energy, transport and health. The present publication contains the third Environmental Performance Review of Uzbekistan. It takes stock of progress made by Uzbekistan in the management of its environment since it was reviewed for the second time in 2009–2010

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The European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road is intended to increase the safety of international transport of dangerous goods by road. Regularly amended and updated since its entry into force, it contains the conditions under which dangerous goods may be carried internationally. This version has been prepared on the basis of amendments applicable as from 1 January 2019. It contains in particular new or revised provisions concerning transport of adsorbed gases; lithium batteries (including damaged or defective lithium batteries, lithium batteries for disposal or recycling); asymmetric capacitors; discarded packagings; ammonium nitrate and radioactive material; testing of gas cartridges and fuel cell cartridges; marking of bundles of cylinders; and the applicability of ISO standards to the manufacture of new pressure receptacles or service equipment

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Oil and gas supplies will continue to play a key role in a future sustainable energy system to support economic growth and social progress, even under a scenario in which stringent climate policies and measures are implemented. At the same time, oil and gas industries are among the main sources of anthropogenic methane emissions. Methane is the primary component of natural gas, with some emitted to the atmosphere during its production, processing, storage, transmission, distribution, and use. Despite methane's short residence time, the fact that it has a much higher warming potential than CO2 and that its atmospheric volumes are continuously replenished make effective methane management a potentially important element in countries' climate change mitigation strategies. This document provides guidance for developing and implementing effective monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) practices, as well as for mitigating methane emissions, from the oil and gas sector. In its discussion on MRV and mitigation opportunities, it is meant to serve as a resource for a broad audience, including owners and operators of oil and gas facilities and policymakers at all levels of government. It is intentionally 'principles-based', recognising that conditions vary greatly across oil and gas facilities, and that legal, political and institutional aspects differ by jurisdictions

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The Model Regulations cover the classification of dangerous goods and their listing, the use, construction, testing and approval of packagings and portable tanks, and the consignment procedures (marking, labelling, placarding and documentation). They aim at ensuring a high level of safety by preventing accidents to persons and property and damage to the environment during transport and, providing at the same time, a uniform regulatory framework which can be applied worldwide for national or international transport by any mode.

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The publication presents and analyses the findings of the first pilot reporting exercise under the Water Convention, which was carried out in 2017. Progress made in the implementation of the Convention is reviewed and summarised, together with the identification of significant trends, success, challenges and opportunities concerning transboundary water cooperation. The reporting mechanism under the Convention was formally adopted (decision VII/2) by the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention at its seventh session (Budapest, 17-19 November 2015).

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The Agreement on the International Carriage of Perishable Foodstuffs and on the Special Equipment to be Used for such Carriage (ATP) is intended to ensure that deep-frozen and chilled foodstuffs are transported efficiently, safely and hygienically and do not pose a danger to human health. It also helps countries avoid the wastage of food through spoilage caused by poor temperature control during carriage. The ATP Agreement provides common standards for temperature-controlled transport equipment such as road vehicles, railway wagons and sea containers (for sea journeys under 150 km) and the tests to ensure the insulating capacity of the equipment and the effectiveness of thermal appliances. New ATP equipment is required to undergo a test of its K coefficient, to prove that the heat escape from the inside to the outside of the body meets the values defined by ATP. All 50 Contracting Parties to the Agreement - including non-UNECE countries (Morocco, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia) - are required to recognize ATP certificates for equipment that conforms to the standards issued by the competent authorities of other Contracting Parties. The ATP lists the products that can be carried under ATP and sets the warmest possible temperature of the load. Fruit and vegetables unless processed are as yet outside the scope of ATP. ATP applies if the point at which the goods are loaded and unloaded are in two different States and the point at which they are unloaded is situated in the territory of a Contracting Party. In other words it applies even if the State where the goods are loaded is not a Contracting Party. Some countries also use the ATP as the basis for their domestic legislation for temperature-controlled transport.

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The Forest Products Annual Market Review 2018-2019 provides a comprehensive analysis of markets in the UNECE region and reports on the main market influences outside the UNECE region. It covers the range of products from the forest to the end-user: from roundwood and primary processed products to value-added and housing. Statistics-based chapters analyse the markets for wood raw materials, sawn softwood, sawn hardwood, wood-based panels, paper, paperboard and woodpulp. Other chapters analyse policies, forest products trade barriers affecting the UNECE region, and markets for wood energy. Underlying the analysis is a comprehensive collection of data. The Review highlights the role of sustainable forest products in international markets. Policies concerning forests and forest products are discussed, as well as the main drivers and trends. The Review also analyses the effects of the current economic situation on forest products markets.

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This publication contains criteria, test methods and procedures to be used for classification of dangerous goods according to the provisions of Parts 2 and 3 of the United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, Model Regulations, as well as of chemicals presenting physical hazards according to the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). It also supplements national or international regulations which are derived from the United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods or the GHS.

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The Forest Products Annual Market Review 2017-2018 provides a comprehensive analysis of markets in the UNECE region and reports on the main market influences outside the UNECE region. It covers the range of products from the forest to the end-user:from roundwood and primary processed products to value-added and housing. Statistics-based chapters analyse the markets for wood raw materials, sawn softwood, sawn hardwood, wood-based panels, paper, paperboard and woodpulp. Other chapters analyse policies, trade barriers affecting forest products, and markets for wood energy. Underlying the analysis is a comprehensive collection of data. The Review highlights the role of sustainable forest products in international markets. Policies concerning forests and forest products are discussed, as well as the main drivers and trends. The Review also analyses the effects of the current economic situation on forest products markets

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The Forest Products Annual Market Review, 2015-2016 provides general and statistical information on forest products markets in 2015 and early 2016 in the UN Economic Commission for Europe region (North America, Europe, the CIS), as well as market influences from outside the UNECE region. The Review covers the range of products from the forest to the final end-user: from roundwood and primary processed products to value-added and innovative wood products. Statistic-based chapters of the Review analyse markets of wood raw materials, sawn softwood, sawn hardwood, wood-based panels, paper, paper board and woodpulp. Other chapters analyse policies, innovative wood products, markets of wood energy, value-added wood products and housing. A special section on pallets and wooden packaging is also included this year. Underlying the analysis is a comprehensive collection of data.

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