UN urges strengthened risk management and early warning for industrial and natural hazards and launches updated UNECE Industrial Accident Notification System
As disaster risks driven by industrial and natural hazard interactions evolve and intensify worldwide, a first of its kind United Nations Global Seminar on Early Warning, Pollution Remediation and Environmental Liability called for urgent action to strengthen multi-hazard early warning systems (MHEWS) to fully address technological and Natech (natural hazard-triggered technological) disasters.
Discussions stressed that integrating these risks into national and regional early warning architecture is essential for enhancing preparedness for and response to industrial accidents, and thus to safeguard human lives, livelihoods and the environment. Doing so will deliver on the priorities of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and advance the UN Secretary-General’s Early Warnings for All (EW4All) Initiative , which aims for universal protection of everyone on Earth from hazardous weather, water or climate events through life-saving early warning systems by the end of 2027. To highlight these linkages, the seminar has been co-organized by UNECE with UNDRR and WMO, pillar-leads for the EW4All Initiative.
Opening the seminar, UNECE Deputy Executive Secretary Dmitry Mariyasin highlighted the central role of multilateral environmental agreements serviced by UNECE in this effort, observing that “catastrophic industrial accidents and Natech events remind us how quickly lives, communities and shared waters can be affected”. He noted that “the Industrial Accidents Convention, the Water Convention, the Aarhus Convention and the Protocol on PRTRs provide countries with practical and complementary tools to prevent accidents, manage risks before they cascade, ensure transparent information-sharing and strengthen cooperation across borders, thereby protecting people and the environment where it matters most”.
Deputy Secretary-General of WMO Ko Barrett highlighted: “History reminds us what is at stake. Events such as the 1970 Bhola Cyclone, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and Japan’s 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster informed the early warning capacities we have today. Our collective ambition is clear: that disasters of this scale should never again occur because warnings were missing, delayed, or not acted upon.”
Director of UNDRR Paola Albrito stated that “technological and Natech hazards are central to the multi-hazard nature of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and to the work of UNDRR. But what we have found throughout our engagement with Member States and partners represents yet another significant challenge set to drive our work ahead. Significant data gaps still exist when it comes to accounting for loss and damage from technological and Natech disasters, among other types. What is not counted is too often not acted upon and this is particularly true for slow-onset pollution, cascading impacts, and cross-border effects”.
The European Union and Germany, co-sponsors of the Seminar, equally highlighted that the convergence of natural hazards and technological risks is increasing, particularly in the context of climate change, making preparedness, early warning and effective response essential layers of protection. They underscored the importance of timely communication, practiced procedures and strong national and transboundary cooperation, supported by legal and institutional frameworks, in reducing impacts and strengthen resilience.
Representatives of the World Institute on Disability and the Youth for Meghna (Y4M) Network stressed that preparedness and response efforts must be inclusive and accessible, noting that technological and Natech disasters can disproportionately affect certain demographics. They called for early warning systems and response mechanisms that are accessible to all, particularly persons with disabilities, older populations, young people and other at‑risk groups, to ensure truly resilient communities and environments.
The session on Early Warning and Industrial Accident Notification Systems showcased how countries and regional and international organizations are strengthening their ability to detect, communicate and respond to technological and Natech disasters. Contributions on river basin commissions, such as the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River and International Commission for the Protection of the Elbe River, demonstrated the importance of mapping hotspots, modelling accident effects and cross‑border coordination in shared waters. National experiences, such as from Croatia, Estonia, Ghana, Japan and Tajikistan, illustrated how governments are modernizing public warning systems, integrating and linking early warning mechanisms to technological hazards, using pollutant release and transfer registers and enhancing crisis management structures.
At the global and regional levels, the Co-Chairs of the Joint Expert Group on Water and Industrial Accidents brought attention to the importance of Natech risk management, while representatives of the African Union’s AMHEWAS platform and the European Union Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) highlighted how regional early warning connect with national efforts and provide support for response. Together, the speakers emphasized the value of coordinated, multi‑hazard approaches that bring hydrometeorological, technological and environmental information together to safeguard people and the environment.
A major milestone was the official launch of the upgraded UNECE Industrial Accidents Notification (IAN) System, a secure platform that enables countries to issue early warnings, request assistance and exchange critical information in the event of (imminent) industrial accidents, driving transboundary cooperation. Originally established by the Conference of the Parties to the Industrial Accidents Convention in 2000, the system has been modernized by UNECE, in cooperation with the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, for enhanced usability, strengthened security and new communication features, including tools for real-time coordination among nationally designated Points of Contact. By improving the speed, clarity and reliability of information exchange, the IAN System strengthens preparedness and response capacities for technological and Natech disasters and as such, contributes to advancing the EW4All agenda. An explanatory video on the IAN System, developed in cooperation with ZOI Environment Network, the European Investment Bank and the European Union, is available here.
Note to editors
More information about the Seminar, including its concept note, full programme in all six UN official languages and presentations, is available here. A video recording will also be made available.
The Seminar was co-organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), specifically the secretariats of the Industrial Accidents Convention , the Water Convention , the Aarhus Convention and the Protocol on Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers , together with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the European Commission Directorate-General for the Environment, the Federal Ministry of the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety of Germany and the Joint Expert Group on Water & Industrial Accidents (JEG) .
Financial support was provided by the European Commission under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) – Global Europe “Action for Strengthening the Safe and Secure Management of Hazardous Substances to Prevent and Mitigate Industrial Accidents Worldwide” and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety of Germany.
The UNECE Industrial Accident Notification (IAN) System was modernized thanks to the support from the European Union, under the above-mentioned NDICI Action, and from Switzerland.