Blog
18 June 2020, online meeting. The Ministry of Finance and Economy of Albania is organizing an online meeting to discuss with Albanian stakeholders ways of and scenarios for financing affordable housing, including through public-private partnerships, and the role of housing agencies in the provision of affordable housing, with the support of the United Nations Economic CommissionRead more
Urban Projects Finance Initiative (UPFI-ERI) Transport & Urban Development Completed Labelled projects Context and objectives The Urban Projects Finance Initiative – Economic Resilience Initiative (UPFI-ERI) seeks to identify and encourage innovative urban projects in the Western Balkans and Southern Mediterranean. It offers a grant to project promoters to help them run the project, with opportunities forRead more
5 June 2020. Today marks World Environment Day, an important opportunity to raise awareness, engage people, and take action on the critical environmental challenges facing our planet. The Mediterranean region faces manifold environmental challenges, including wildfires, the destruction of ecosystems, and an unprecedented loss of biodiversity. The recent scientific report focused on the regional environmental impacts ofRead more
Around 80 percent of global trade is transported by commercial shipping and intra-Mediterranean maritime trade flows account for nearly 25% of global traffic volume. The maritime industry is playing an essential role in the short-term emergency response to the COVID-19, by facilitating transport of vital commodities and products. Despite the current difficult times, a vastRead more
32 Mediterranean species are already known to be globally extinct, or extinct in the wild. Mega fires caused by climate change have destroyed record areas of forest in recent years and damaged biodiversity. Areas susceptible to fires could increase by up to 40% with just a 1.5°C increase in temperature. The Union for the Mediterranean promotes and supports studies and projects in the region to haltRead more
The UfM strengthens collaborative efforts to address the impacts of pollution together with the UN Environment Program / Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP/MAP). 13-14 May 2020. The Mediterranean Sea is the most polluted European sea with 200 thousand tons of plastic dumped each year. Also, air pollution from ships in the Mediterranean causes up to 6,000 deaths per year. Both sources of pollution wereRead more
13-14 May 2020. The UfM is taking part in the 21st Meeting of the Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development (MCSD) Steering Committee that will be conducted through a teleconference on 13-14 May 2020. The meeting follows the 2019 December of COP 21 of the Barcelona Convention, where decisions related to pollution and marine litter, biodiversityRead more
29 April 2020. UfM took stock of Covid-19 challenges and best practices in housing at a virtual meeting hosted by the Secretary-General of the Union for the Mediterranean, Nasser Kamel, on Wednesday, 29 April 2020. “Exchange of best practices and policy transfers in inclusive, adequate and sustainable housing during this pandemic will also help build resilience, in particular to climate change, in the Mediterranean.” Nasser Kamel, Secretary General of the UnionRead more
