Environmental issues and sustainable development


SEA/2191

NEW YORK, 18 January 2024 (Office of Legal Affairs) — On 16 January 2024, principals of organizations participating in UN-Oceans endorsed a statement of commitments to strengthen and promote coordination and coherence of United Nations system activities in relation to the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ).

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) officially confirmed in a statement today that 2023 was the warmest year on record — by a huge margin — as the annual average global temperature approached 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. WMO will issue its final “State of the Global Climate” report for 2023 in March.

In Gaza, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory today pointed to the need for a humanitarian ceasefire, given the conditions on the ground. She emphasized that Israel needs to provide for unimpeded humanitarian access and ensure conditions allow for the provision of aid.