Environmental issues and sustainable development

For Youth Day at the Glasgow Climate Change Conference, the Secretary-General’s Youth Advisory Group and young climate activists discussed how to include young people in formal decision-making processes.  Indigenous youth leaders also shared on the importance of traditional knowledge as a vital component of climate action.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message on the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict, observed on 6 November:

In Yemen, the United Nations and partners continue to provide life-saving aid to thousands of civilians on both sides of the front lines in Ma’rib, Al Bayda and Shabwah since fighting escalated in these governorates in September, amid calls by the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, for de-escalation.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message for the launch of the Council on Urban Initiatives, “Advancing a Carbon-Neutral, Resilient Recovery for Cities and Nations”, held today:

Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s video message to the virtual side event “Ambition from the Frontlines — Recognizing Champions with the Climate Promise” at the twenty-sixth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, in Glasgow, United Kingdom, today:

The global level of undernourishment increased sharply last year, under the shadow of the COVID‑19 pandemic, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization’s annual Statistical Yearbook, released today.  Nearly 10 per cent of the world’s population suffered from hunger in 2020, up from 8.4 per cent in 2019.

Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s video message to the seventy-fifth anniversary of the State of Lower Saxony, Germany, in Hannover, Germany, today:

The Secretary-General — in observance of International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, on 2 November — stated that 62 journalists were killed for doing their jobs in 2020.  Noting that the number of media workers killed outside conflict zones has risen in recent years, he urged leaders to demonstrate the political will needed to investigate and prosecute these crimes.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks, as delivered, at the Climate Vulnerable Forum, Leaders Dialogue, in Glasgow, United Kingdom, today:

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the twenty‑sixth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) Leaders’ Event:  “Action and Solidarity — The Critical Decade”, in Glasgow, United Kingdom, today: