By Andrea Januta
(Reuters) – U.N. official and environmental expert Achim Steiner will speak about the global COVID-19 response and climate change during a virtual Reuters Newsmaker event https://reutersnewsmakerachimsteiner.splashthat.com/undp to mark Earth Day on Thursday.
Since 2017, Steiner has led the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP), which works in around 170 countries to eradicate poverty, reduce inequality and encourage sustainable practices.
During the pandemic, the organization sounded the alarm that rising unemployment, school closures and health risks are taking the largest toll on the poorest and most vulnerable populations. It also urged developing nations to explore universal basic income to reduce the pandemic’s worst effects.
The organization has also pushed to create new development models that combat climate change. In December, the organization urged stronger action https://www.reuters.com/article/global-development-climatechange-idUSKBN28P0DU on the environment in its annual development report http://hdr.undp.org/en/2020-report and added new climate change-related measures to its index.
Reuters Editor-at-Large Axel Threlfall and Reuters Climate Change Editor Katy Daigle will lead the conversation and take questions from the audience.
Steiner is also the vice chair of the U.N. Sustainable Development Group, which brings multiple U.N. entities together to support sustainable world progress. Previously, Steiner spent a decade as the executive director of the U.N. Environment Programme.
The event https://reutersnewsmakerachimsteiner.splashthat.com/undp starts at 9 a.m. ET (1300 GMT).
(Reporting by Andrea Januta in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
