UN ESCAP

Climate advocates and commentators are calling on the next UN climate summit, COP31, to do more to address emissions from producing and using materials such as cement, steel and plastics, which are among the hardest sectors to decarbonise. The argument, made in commentary from Climate Home News, is that current negotiations focus heavily on energy while material use has largely escaped serious commitments. Participants in the climate debate are pushing for stronger targets on the built environment and industrial materials to be placed on the summit agenda.

The UN stabilization mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, MONUSCO, is providing protection to civilians fleeing violence in Ituri province. The region has long been affected by clashes between armed groups, displacing thousands of people. The mission's peacekeepers are sheltering and assisting those escaping the fighting, in line with its mandate to protect civilians.