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The world’s land — including its mountains, hills, plateaus and plains — provides vital services, such as oxygen, food and water, that are essential for life. Land is also home to much of the world’s biodiversity. Land “plays a key role in the climate system” as an essential carbon sink because its surfaces, such as forests, regulate the planet’s temperature and help to store carbon…

Also available in Spanish, French and Arabic. Climate change is the defining issue of our times. Every day, more and more people are getting involved in climate action. Veterans in the field are already familiar with the many terms and concepts related to climate change. But if you are new to the discussion, it can be quite challenging to grasp everything at once. …

As the global champion for women and girls, UN Women recognizes the importance of language in fighting gender bias and promotes the use of gender-inclusive language in all contexts and at all times. Gender-inclusive language refers to language that places both women and men at the same level, and which does not convey gender stereotypes. Our searchable gender-inclusive lexicon below…

Africa's Current Path, 14 thematic futures and a Combined Agenda 2063 scenario This website provides integrated forecasts of Africa’s development prospects and potential. Prospects cover 14 sectors for each African country, region, regional economic community and country income groups within the timeline of the African Union’s Agenda 2063. Insights are grounded in academic literature…

Under our changing climate, the weather in Europe is getting more extreme. What could this summer bring in terms of heatwaves, droughts, floods, and forest fires? The overall outlook is pessimistic as we have already seen this past winter and spring. This makes adaptation to climate change and better preparedness crucial, according to a European Environment Agency extreme weather product…

In 2022, UN Member States agreed to start negotiating a new global treaty to end plastic pollution. This is a historic step towards protecting wildlife, the environment, and humans from the harmful effects of plastic pollution. Now it is crucial that we ensure the treaty is ambitious and effective enough to truly address the plastic crisis, and end plastic pollution once and for all. n…