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Cost of renewables fell in 2016, lowering global investment in clean energy – UN

The world added record levels of renewable energy capacity in 2016, even as investment in clean energy fell, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) today reported. “Ever-cheaper clean tech provides a real opportunity for investors to get more for less,” said UNEP executive Director Erik Solheim. “This is exactly the kind of situation, where the […]

Adapting UN peace operations to changing world a ‘shared responsibility,’ Guterres tells Security Council

United Nations peacekeepers face a raft of challenges – terrorism, hostile host governments, floods of illicit weapons, and sometimes being deployed to places where peace itself is at stake – Secretary-General António Guterres said today, underscoring that all parts of the UN have a role to play in making sure ‘blue helmets’ can deliver on […]

Donors pledge $9.7 billion to help support future of war-torn Syria at UN-backed conference

Forty-one donors today pledged a combined $6 billion for critical humanitarian programmes in 2017 and another $3.7 billion for 2018 for the people of Syria reeling under a devastating conflict since 2011 at a United Nations-supported conference in the Belgian capital, Brussels. Earlier in the day, UN Secretary-General António Guterres drew attention the plight of […]

Posted in Aid

US funding cuts to UN population agency based on ‘inaccurate perception’ – UN chief

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has voiced deep regret at the decision by the United States to cut financial support for the United Nations population agency, stating that the announcement is based on a misinterpretation of the UN agency’s work. The Secretary-General “believes that the decision is based on an inaccurate perception of the nature […]

Posted in Aid

Syria: UN chief ‘deeply disturbed’ by reports of alleged chemical attack; OPCW investigating

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today said that he is “deeply disturbed” by reports of alleged use of chemical weapons in an airstrike in the Khan Shaykhun area of southern Idlib, Syria. In a statement from his spokesperson, the Secretary-General expressed heartfelt condolences to the victims of the incident and their families. He noted that […]