August 2010: The UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has published a report titled “The MDGs in Europe and Central Asia: Achievements, Challenges and the Way Forward.” The chapter on MDG 7 (environmental sustainability) was jointly prepared by UNECE and the Regional Office for Europe of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and contains several references to climate change.

The report was coordinated by the UNECE and jointly prepared by various UN agencies. The overview underlines that, in the pan-European region as a whole, “the level of reduction of carbon dioxide emissions is not sufficient for complying with the commitments of the Kyoto protocol.” In the sub-section titled “Climate change, carbon dioxide emissions and ozone depletion,” the report outlines trends and policy developments at the pan-European, EU and national levels. It offers recommendations related to: reinforcing and implementing effectively policies and measures contributing to energy efficiency; developing the market for industrial energy efficiency investments with the aid of appropriately designed carbon-trading schemes, using new, environmentally sound technologies; and expanding cooperation with countries in transition in developing and transferring low-carbon energy efficient technologies and in drawing up policies that support their deployment.

In the sub-section on forests, the report points to strategies on forests and climate change and to wood energy for renewable energy policies. It includes recommendations on devising forest policies to address climate change impacts and adaptation, and on promoting wood energy for local use and export markets. In the sub-section on water, recommendations include developing strategies and measures for climate change adaptation, and increasing cooperation among riparian countries on transboundary basins. In the biodiversity sub-section, a recommendation focuses on adopting additional measures in the pan-European region to address increasing threats such as climate change, involving not only the biodiversity sector but also the economic sectors that continue to exert pressure on biodiversity. [The Report]