The sub-prime mortgage crisis almost brought the United States real estate market and banking systems to their knees. Markets worldwide, including in United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) countries in Europe from West to East, are being strongly affected by the domino effect of the resulting financial shockwaves.
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have just released the UNECE/FAO Forest Products Annual Market Review, 2007-2008.
Buildings are major contributors to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Worldwide, 30 to 40 per cent of all primary energy (i.e. energy contained in raw fuels) is used in buildings. In Europe, they account for 40 to 45 per cent of energy consumption.
UNECE countries face inevitable climate change, experts have warned. Preventing change is not an option, but helping society to adapt to the warmer world that lies ahead offers hope of reducing the impacts to more tolerable levels.
In the transition countries of Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA) and South-Eastern Europe (SEE), three generations of buildings are identified with the names of the Soviet leaders at the time of their construction ?Stalinka, Krushchevka and Brezhnevka.
An effective and balanced intellectual property (IP) regime increases national wealth and benefits consumers by stimulating research and investment into new technologies and innovative products, and by enabling the transfer of technology, including between countries at different stages of economic development.
The Parties to the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters will hold their third meeting in Riga from 11 to 13 June 2008, marking the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention.
A major international Symposium, organized by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) has concluded that using open, harmonized, international standards is critical for successful cross-border paperless trading.
Much progress has been made since the start of the Second Phase of the World Summit for the Information Society (WSIS) that took place in Tunis in November 2005; however, many challenges still require urgent attention.
WSIS
ITU
United Nations
Telecom
UNECE
Miscellaneous
