The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Launch of the Climate and Environment Charter for Humanitarian Organizations
Ann Vaessen, for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said that the climate and environmental crisis was having a huge humanitarian impact and was affecting peoples’ lives and livelihoods every day, mostly in parts of the world that contributed least to the problem. In that context, to green its humanitarian operations and integrate climate-smart solutions across its work, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement had developed and introduced the Climate and Environment Charter for Humanitarian Organizations.
Catherine-Lune Grayson, for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said the Charter had been developed under the aegis of IFRC and ICRC for the humanitarian community, by the humanitarian community. After months of consultations with over 150 humanitarian organizations, the Charter had recently been opened for signature. ICRC was delighted to observe that it had already been signed by 25 organizations, with more expected to follow.
Climate change was making epidemics, floods, storms, droughts, heatwaves, and wildfires deadlier and more frequent. The scale of the challenge, and the uncertainty and the risks that it brought, required collective planning for the future. There was growing recognition across the humanitarian sector that climate change and environmental degradation were dramatically affecting communities, exacerbating risks and threatening lives and livelihoods. Moreover, the impacts of climate change were not equally felt: it was the most vulnerable communities across the world who were most affected.
Recognizing the need to improve the humanitarian response to the climate and environment crisis, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement had begun to develop the Charter in 2019. Its aim was to guide the humanitarian sector’s approach to the increasing risks resulting from climate change and to address its own carbon and environmental footprint.
Elaine Angeles, for IFRC, said the Charter contained seven commitments. Most notable were the commitments for humanitarian organizations to step up their response to growing humanitarian needs and support those most at risk to the impacts of the climate and environmental crises; and to maximize the environmental sustainability of their work and rapidly reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Four commitments focused on how humanitarian organizations could achieve their ambitions, including by embracing local leadership, increasing capacity to understand climate and environmental risks, nurturing collective action and using their influence to mobilize more ambitious climate action. The seventh commitment was for organizations to adopt specific targets and action plans so they could measure their progress.
IFRC was now encouraging widespread adoption of the Charter and was developing tools and guidance to support organizations in implementation. It planned to share the Charter widely ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26) in November 2021, thus signalling the strong commitment of the humanitarian community to scaling up its response to the climate and environment crises.
The full ICRC news release can be found here.
Announcements
Catherine Huissoud, for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said that on Tuesday, 29 June at 3 p.m., UNCTAD would hold a press conference to present its report on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism. Speakers would include an UNCTAD economist and an expert from the World Tourism Organization. The report would be under embargo until 30 June at 7 a.m. CEST.
According to the report, economic losses were mounting in developing countries as the absence of widespread COVID-19 vaccinations kept tourists away. The tourism sector’s recovery would largely depend on the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines globally.
Furthermore, on 7 July, UNCTAD would publish the 2021 edition of its Commodities and Development Report, entitled Escaping from the Commodity Dependence Trap through Technology and Innovation. The report explored how technological development and innovation could help commodity-dependent developing countries achieve economic diversification and value addition.
Sarah Bel, for the United Nations Development Programme, said that UNDP was launching a new policy brief that assessed the opportunities of the upcoming special drawing rights allocation of the International Monetary Fund. The policy brief would be under embargo until 24 June at 6 a.m. A media briefing would be held today at 3.30 p.m., with speakers including the author of the brief, UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner; UNDP Chief Economist Georges Ronald Gray; and author and senior economist Lars Jensen.
UNDP had also just released a series of research papers on the regulation of global financial technology platforms (BigFintechs). The summary paper entitled BigFintechs and Sustainability: A Necessary Convergence brought together key recommendations to regulate that growing sector.
The UNDP press release is available here: Antitrust and data privacy regulations are insufficient to manage BigFintechs’ economic, social and environmental impacts, says a new UNDP/UNCDF study | UNDP in Geneva
Tomson Phiri, for the World Food Programme (WFP), said that, following the address of Executive Director David Beasley to the WFP Executive Board on 21 June, a news release had been issued on the risk of famine and the urgent need for funding and humanitarian access.
The news release is available here: WFP says 41 million people now at imminent risk of famine without urgent funding and immediate humanitarian access | World Food Programme
Furthermore, on Wednesday, 23 June, WFP would circulate a video news release on Madagascar, where severe drought had caused a catastrophic hunger crisis. WFP was concerned that unless swift action was taken, a full-blown famine could become a reality. The video news release would be accompanied by photographs and text and the WFP Regional Director for Southern Africa and the Deputy Country Director in Madagascar would be available for interviews.
Vittorio Cammarota, for the International Trade Centre (ITC), said that on Wednesday, 23 June at 10 a.m., ITC would hold a media briefing to launch the report SME Competitiveness Outlook 2021: Empowering the green recovery. The briefing would be held in Room XIV, Palais des Nations, Geneva, and livestreamed on UN Web TV. Speakers would include ITC Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton and Chief Economist Barbara Ramos.
The report featured new findings on how small businesses could rebuild from the pandemic in a way that prepared them for the climate crisis. It showed that with the support of a network of partners, and by investing in the right business fundamentals, small firms could emerge greener, more competitive and more resilient.
Rhéal LeBlanc, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), on behalf of the Human Rights Council, said that the Council’s forty-seventh session had begun on 21 June with an update by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet. The Council was currently engaged in an interactive discussion with statements on the High Commissioner's update. At about 4 p.m., the Council would hear the presentation of a report of the Secretary-General on Iran, followed by an oral update by the High Commissioner on Nicaragua. Thereafter, it would hear the presentation of a report by the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing.
The Conference on Disarmament was holding a public plenary meeting today from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. The meeting was the first under the presidency of Ambassador Leslie E. Norton of Canada and would be devoted to a debate on item 6 of the Conference’s agenda (comprehensive programme of disarmament).
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, which had opened its seventy-ninth session (online) on 21 June, would hold a day of general discussion on the rights of indigenous women and girls on 24 June from 12.30 to 2.30 p.m. and from 4 to 6 p.m.
Mr. LeBlanc noted that the UN Secretary-General would this week travel to Brussels to meet with European leaders and Belgian authorities. On 24 June he would deliver a solemn address to the European Parliament in which he would reiterate the importance of the partnership between the United Nations and the European Union to address the challenges they faced.
Mr. LeBlanc also noted that the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) had announced that it intended to convene an in-person meeting of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum in Switzerland from 28 June to 1 July. The meeting would be an opportunity for the members of the Forum to develop proposals to further facilitate the holding of national elections on 24 December 2021.
The announcement is available here: https://unsmil.unmissions.org/unsmil-facilitate-meeting-libyan-political-dialogue-forum-switzerland-28-june. More details on the meeting programme would be shared with journalists in the coming days.
Finally, Mr. LeBlanc said that the Berlin II Conference on Libya would take place on 23 June. The Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, would lead the United Nations delegation on behalf of the Secretary-General, who would address the Conference via a video message.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IOM , OHCHR , UN WOMEN , UNFPA , UNHCR , UNOPS , WHO
UN Geneva briefing: Yemen crisis worsens, urgent aid needed across multiple sectors.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | HRC
Press conference on the latest report of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the UN Human Rights Council
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OHCHR
Victims Still Waiting: A Global Briefing on Transitional Justice Around the World
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | WMO
As world’s water reserves change, countries must prepare for a new reality: WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
- Past seven years have seen abnorfmal river flows
- Water storage on Earth’s land surface has decreased in past decade
- Widespread glacier loss across all regions for fourth consecutive year
- Asia and Africa are regions most affected by water-related disasters
- Water data availability has improved, but gaps remain in hard-hit areas
Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
ends
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WMO , OCHA , WHO , UNICEF , UN WOMEN , OHCHR , IOM , UNHCR
Update on Ebola from WHO and OCHA, update on the situation of children with the beginning of school in Ukraine from UNICEF, UN Women on the impact of the settlers and restrictions on women and girls in West Bank, OHCHR on the recovery of extensive human remains in Gaza, IOM and UNHCR on the new wave of displacement in Yemen
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WFP
‘Super El Niño’ and converging crises worsen hunger in South Sudan and across the region - WFP
South Sudan’s hunger crisis is becoming increasingly catastrophic as violence, extreme weather and dwindling aid leave millions without enough food, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | HRC
Update on the human rights situation in Belarus by the UN Group of Independent Experts on the Human Rights Situation in Belarus
1
1
1
Press Conferences | HRC , OHCHR
Update on the human rights situation in Syria by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNOG , IOM , UN WOMEN , UNCTAD , WHO , UNECE
IOM Yemen's Western Coast displacement; UN WOMEN on Gaza; UNCTAD Strait of Hormuz disruptions impacts; WHO Ebola logistics in DRC; WHO smoking and infertility; UNECE Data centres and energy.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNITAR , WMO
UNITAR: GA resolution on the merger of the United Nations System Staff College into the United Nations Institute for Training and Research; WMO: Air Quality and Climate Bulletin released; WHO: Ukraine update
2
2
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WMO
Powerful El Niño heightens extreme-weather risks through 2027, as countries brace for impact - WMO
Fuelled by extraordinarily warm waters across the tropical Pacific Ocean, the El Niño climate pattern is expected to intensify in the coming months. Forecasters are almost certain that it will persist through February next year, with unusually warm conditions expected across the globe.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IFRC , UN WOMEN , WFP , WHO , WMO , OCHA
UN WOMEN/IFRC: Update on the impact of the floods in Nepal, WFP: Food assistance in the West Bank, WHO: Gaza’s rehabilitation needs and continued spread of diseases