News and announcements

The Declaration refocuses attention on the urgency of climate change at the once-a-year gathering of world leaders at a time when international leadership on climate change is flagging, even as extreme weather events and record-breaking droughts linked to climate change are becoming more severe and costly...

Preparedness is a key feature of The European Civil Protection Mechanism's work. It involves imagining all kinds of scenarios in advance and holding international field exercises on a regular basis to improve the inter-operability of the resources made available by the Member States...

A new report by UN-Habitat links the world's future prosperity to the ability of cities to reduce risk and build resilience to adverse forces of nature.

Masons are a crucial aspect for ensuring compliance with building codes and reducing vulnerability to earthquakes. In an industry traditionally dominated by men, this innovative training programme became the first to focus and build capacity of women and recognises their contribution to safe construction in Nepal...

'Our ability to predict the climate a season in advance has improved dramatically thanks to increased scientific understanding about El Niño/La Niña events,' said WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud. 'Provision of El Niño/La Niña Updates in support of climate services has become an important tool for the disaster risk reduction, water management, agricultural and health sectors,' he said.

'The losses to agriculture and fisheries alone could amount to more than $500 billion per year by 2030, heavily focussed in the poorest countries where millions depend on these sectors to make a living,' said Oxfam International's executive director Jeremy Hobbs...

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda of Japan enjoined the community of nations to 'imagine the benefits of future generations' and to act on their behalf, adding that the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station last year – a result of the 'Great East Japan Earthquake' – had led the Government to take steps to create a society not dependent on nuclear power by the 2030s...

The strategy will seek to strengthen the short- and long-term ability of communities to cope with extreme climatic conditions and market shocks. This means building regional mechanisms for early warning, disaster risk reduction, livelihood support, and social protection,' said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon...