Environmental issues and sustainable development

Following is the text of UN Secretary‑General António Guterres’ video message to the Leaders Summit of the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, in Kunming, China, and online, virtually, today:

Following is the text of UN Secretary‑General António Guterres’ video message for the European Union Sustainable Investment Summit, held virtually today:

In northern Syria, a reported 5 million people lack reliable access to and suffer from insufficient levels of safe water due to low water levels and disruptions to water systems.  The United Nations and aid partners have released a plan to target 3.4 million of those most affected by the water crisis in the next six months.

Following are UN Secretary‑General António Guterres’ remarks at the Pre‑Twenty‑sixth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) in Milan, Italy today:

In Afghanistan, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports that its first aircraft carrying life‑saving medical supplies arrived yesterday in Kabul through the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations Airbridge.  It will cover the needs of 100,000 children and women for the next three months.

Following is the text of UN Secretary‑General António Guterres’ video message to Youth4Climate:  Driving Ambition (pre‑Conference Youth Event), in Milan, Italy today:

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on “Environment and human rights: Right to Safe, Healthy and Sustainable Environment”, in Strasbourg from 27 to 30 September:

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the high‑level meeting on financing for development in the era of COVID-19 and beyond: “jobs and social protection for poverty eradication”, held today:

Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary‑General Amina Mohammed’s video message to the First Global Parliamentary Meeting on Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):  “Turning the challenges of the COVID‑19 pandemic into opportunities for parliaments to achieve the SDGs”, today:

Today at a United Nations energy summit, the United Nations as well as a group of international organizations and Governments announced a compact to help United Nations peacekeeping missions’ transition to renewable energy.  The initiative responds to the United Nations Secretariat’s commitment to source 80 per cent of its power from renewable energy by 2030, which hinges overwhelmingly on peacekeeping operations.