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UNECE is leading the way in developing climate change statistics

Earlier this month in New York, countries from around the world expressed their appreciation for the work done by UNECE to improve official statistics for the measurement of climate change. Almost twenty countries spoke at the 47th session of the United Nations Statistical Commission, the global governing body of official statistics, in support of improving data for climate policies.


All countries supported developing a global framework of climate change indicators based on the UNECE Recommendations on Climate Change-Related Statistics.  The framework would also build on the set of climate change-related indicators that a UNECE-led network of experts is currently defining. 

Statisticians unanimously agreed at the Commission session that climate change measurement needs immediate action. This means making basic statistics on the environment, energy, agriculture and industry more relevant for climate analysis and more easily available for researchers and policy makers.


Countries requested more funding and expert support to improve data and statistical capacities at the national, sub-regional and regional levels as outlined in the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and the agreements reached by COP21 in Paris. The Commission urged countries to put special effort into developing their official statistics for climate policies and sharing their experience leaving no country behind.

To achieve this, national statistical offices will need to invest in the improvements of their statistics. In addition, substantial resources need to be mobilized within the donor community. UNECE is well placed to aid in pooling resources and bringing climate change and statistical experts together to work on achieving concrete results. These results and plans for future work will be the focus of a UNECE Expert Forum that will take place in Geneva on 5-7 October 2016. As a follow up to the discussions at the Commission, a number of developing countries expressed their interest in participating in the work of the Forum.

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