Affordable and Clean Energy

This revised fourth edition of the publication, the so-called Blue Book, continues providing precise and updated information on the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) serviced by the UNECE Sustainable Transport Division: on its historical background, its administrative and legal framework with a user's guide, and the three international UN Agreements administered by the World Forum. Note: The fourth edition of the Blue Book had been published in 2019.

The United Nations Resource Management System (UNRMS) is designed as a unifying framework for the integrated management of resources. UNRMS is based on the globally accepted United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC), which has incorporated a unique methodology of assessing resources through the triple lenses of environmental-social-economic viability, project feasibility and level of knowledge. It is a voluntary global standard for integrated resource management, within the framework of public, public-private and civil society partnerships, and is uniformly applicable to all resources.

The publication proposes a method for hydrogen classification needed to jumpstart production and international trade in hydrogen. It also presents several project ideas in selected UNECE member States that would accelerate deployment of hydrogen.

Fuel Trafficking in the Sahel is part of a series of transnational organized crime threat assessment reports on the Sahel. The report explores fuel trafficking in the Sahel by looking at the nature of the market, trafficking flows, the main actors involved, as well as the enablers and impact of this form of trafficking on the region.

La Revue annuelle du marché des produits forestiers 2018-2019 fournit une analyse complète des marchés dans la région de la CEE et examine l’influence sur les marchés des principaux facteurs hors de la région. Elle traite des produits forestiers à partir de la forêt jusqu’à l’utilisateur final, c’est-à-dire des bois ronds et des produits de première transformation, aux produits à valeur ajoutée et aux produits utilisés dans la construction de logements. Les chapitres de la Revue qui s’appuient sur des statistiques sont consacrés à la matière première bois, aux sciages de résineux, aux sciages de feuillus, aux panneaux dérivés du bois, aux papiers et cartons et à la pâte de bois. D’autres chapitres analysent les politiques et les marchés du bois pour la production d’énergie. S’appuyant sur une série exhaustive de données, la Revue met en lumière le rôle des produits forestiers durables sur les marchés internationaux et analyse les politiques relatives aux forêts et aux produits forestiers, ainsi que les principaux facteurs déterminants et les tendances. Elle présente également une analyse des effets de la situation économique actuelle sur les marchés des produits forestiers.

This publication demonstrates the benefits and added value of implementing intersectoral (nexus) solutions to solve the most typical problems affecting transboundary basins in terms of water quantity, quality, and environment. It is based on a survey of stakeholders worldwide who have experience with solutions and investments that link water management, energy, land/agriculture and/or environment protection, including from nexus assessments and dialogues. Designing, planning, and implementing nexus solutions and investments is in the interest of all policy makers (notably from energy and agriculture). Such nexus solutions – in contrast to sectoral-specific solutions – are associated with lower political risks (broader consensus) and higher levels of coherence with respect to cross-sectoral goals (e.g. climate goals, sustainable development) and broader benefits (multiple interests). The categories of solutions considered include international/transboundary cooperation, governance, economic and policy instruments, as well as infrastructure and innovation, while experiences of financing nexus investments are also discussed here.

While Methane (CH4) is the second most prevalent anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) after carbon dioxide (CO2), the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of the former is 28-34 times higher than that of the latter. Coal mining is a major source of methane emissions, accounting for about 12% of global total anthropogenic emissions of that gas. Most emissions come from underground working mines, but those from abandoned mines are raising. Action on methane requires a solid understanding of emission sources at national, subnational, and local levels. Only with reliable emissions data, can policymakers design effective GHG policies, evaluate mitigation opportunities, and comply with their international climate commitments. National monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) programs can not only help countries better understand the contribution of coal mining to their overall methane and GHG emissions, but also identify opportunities for mitigation. In particular, MRV can help assess and track the effectiveness of the adopted climate policies. Setting up efficient MRV schemes is also important to deliver on international climate commitments in the context of the Paris Agreement.

For many decades, cities in the Asia Pacific region have followed unsustainable patterns of transport development: worsening congestion and traffic safety, deteriorating air quality, high consumption of fossil fuels, and rising greenhouse gas emissions. Fortunately, many city governments are now developing sustainable transport strategies to target these issues and promote more sustainable modes, such as public transport and non-motorized transport. To date, however, their efforts to design effective strategies have been thwarted by their limited capacity to collect and analyze data. The Sustainable Urban Transport Index (SUTI) was developed by ESCAP to address this gap. The SUTI is a tool that summarizes, tracks and compares the performance of cities in sustainable urban transport and related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SUTI is a composite index made up of ten indicators, each measuring different aspects of sustainable urban transport. In addition, the data which make up the SUTI can be collected by city officials at low cost and on a regular basis, thereby allowing them to continuously monitor their city’s performance over time. The main aim of this report is to demonstrate how SUTI can be used by policymakers to monitor progress towards sustainable urban mobility, as well as to identify those policies which will move urban transport systems towards sustainability. It contains the results of SUTI assessments conducted in 24 cities of the Asia and Pacific region between 2017 and 2021.

Europe’s Environment – the seventh pan-European environmental assessment – is the latest in the series of regional assessments conducted since 1995. The environmental assessments of the pan-European region provide up-to-date and policy-relevant information on the interactions between the environment and society. The assessments have been a consistent feature of the Environment for Europe process from 1995 to 2022. At its twenty-fifth session (Geneva, 13–15 November 2019), the UNECE Committee on Environmental Policy selected a limited indicator-based and thematic assessment from among the options for the seventh pan-European environmental assessment. The main objective of the seventh assessment is to provide decision-makers with adequate information to take informed policy decisions at the Ninth Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference (Nicosia, 5–7 October 2022), both on broader environmental issues and trends and on the two conference themes on (a) “Greening the economy in the pan-European region: working towards sustainable infrastructure” and (b) “Applying principles of circular economy to sustainable tourism”. The seventh edition of the pan-European environmental assessment provides an overview of the current state and trends of the environment in Europe and Central Asia based on selected indicators, and of the challenges that are faced. It also provides policy recommendations to UNECE member States. Its release gives an opportunity for tracking progress achieved in meeting global and regional policy goals, including the Sustainable Development Goals and targets, and offers information to enable a societal transition towards more sustainable and circular economies in the face of an alarming planetary change.

The Energy Statistics Compilers Manual (ESCM) is a publication that complements in a practical manner the International Recommendations for Energy Statistics (IRES), which provides a comprehensive methodological framework for the collection, compilation and dissemination of energy statistics in all countries irrespective of the level of development of their statistical system. In particular, IRES provides of a set of internationally agreed recommendations covering all aspects of the statistical production process, from the institutional and legal framework, basic concepts, definitions and classifications to data sources, data compilation strategies, energy balances, data quality issues and statistical dissemination. The ESCM is written primarily for practitioners that are tasked with building up or improving the energy statistics programme of a country or institution in a way that is consistent with the latest international standards and produces reliable and internationally comparable data.The ESCM aims to assist countries in the collection, analysis and dissemination of energy statistics to international standards. Its purpose is to complement IRES by providing explanations that make it easier to apply the principles defined in IRES in practical applications, to understand specific relationships that facilitate or complicate the adaptation of such principles to national situations and therefore provide practical ways to implement an energy statistics programme that is consistent with the established international recommendations.