To coincide with Earth Day, over 500 new city actions, showcasing a wealth of inspiring climate action, are being featured on a UN-hosted website, with the aim of building momentum for the upcoming global climate agreement in Paris.

Member States of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) launched a consultative process for the creation of a Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) Forum on Sustainable Development, during an extraordinary session of ECLAC's Committee of the Whole. 

The Negotiating Committee of the ‘Declaration on the application of Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean' will commence its work this spring in order to negotiate a regional instrument for implementing the rights of access to environmental information, participation and justice as set out in Principle 10 of the 1992 Rio Declaration, according to a work plan agreed in March 2015.

A new global agreement to address climate change is taking shape, with the United States joining the European Union in formally submitting its plan to cut greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The US has sent a strong signal by being one of the first to offer this commitment to concrete climate action. In the days ahead, many other countries, including China and India, are expected to add their plans to the mix.