UNECE celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, the first international treaty to deal with air pollution on a broad regional basis. Ms. Kornélia Radics, President of the Hungarian Meteorological Service participated in the high-level panel on this occasion on 11 December2019.
Ms. Radics emphasized that Hungary has decreased significantly its emissions and even led a task force under the Convention at an earlier stage. She underlined that in case of air pollution international cooperation is vital. She welcome the recent initiative to share the knowledge accumulated under the Convention and to open the possibility of global collaboration in this field.
At the opening of the high-level panel, Ms. Olga Algayerova, UNECE Executive Secretary, Mr. Bruno Pozzi, Director of UN Environment and Ms. Elena Manaenkova, Deputy Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization delivered speeches. Ban Ki-moon, previous Secretary-General of the United Nations conveyed a video message at the event. They all underlined that the Convention has substantially contributed to the development of international environmental law and has created the essential framework for controlling and reducing the damage to human health and the environment caused by transboundary air pollution. It is a successful example of what can be achieved through intergovernmental cooperation.