Read of the original press release here Actions to enhance labour rights, social dialogue and fair recruitment practices are needed to strengthen decent work in the Malaysian rubber glove sector according to a new International Labour Organization (ILO) report.

The findings aim to promote action and provide guidance to the Government of Malaysia, employers’ and workers’ organizations, buyers of rubber gloves, recruitment agencies and other key industry stakeholders.

Key recommendations made by the report include the need to strengthen rights at work by continuing to align Malaysian labour laws with international standards. Particular attention should be paid to working hours – especially overtime hours permitted – as well as ensuring safe and healthy working and living environments. Enforcement capacity at the Department of Labour should also be reinforced so that it can regularly inspect workplaces to monitor compliance with labour laws.

The report highlights how strengthened social dialogue would support employers to identify and resolve workplace issues and enable workers to collectively negotiate for better and safer working conditions. While the weak presence of unions in the sector is noted, glove manufacturing workers who participated in this study expressed a desire to join a union if one were active.

The need for greater promotion of fair recruitment practices in the sector, including through relevant labour law reform that would, inter alia, prohibit recruiters and employers from charging recruitment fees and related costs to workers is also stressed.

Other recommendations include the need to strengthen the capacity of employers to conduct due diligence in their supply chains, including on recruitment agencies and labour sub-contractors as well as improving grievance mechanisms.

Speaking about the findings, Ms. Panudda Boonpala, ILO’s Deputy Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific said: “The research provides an analysis of the decent work challenges and opportunities in the rubber glove supply chain in Malaysia. We trust that the findings and recommendations will be of use for the Government, employers’ and workers’ organizations and the other supply chain stakeholders in generating and imple¬menting new policies, plans, tools and training to address the challenges and harness the opportunities for promoting decent work in the rubber glove supply chain.”

Decent work challenges and opportunities in Malaysia’s rubber glove supply chain was developed within the framework of the Sustainable Supply Chain to Build Forward Better (SSCBFB) project,  a joint initiative of the ILO and the European (EU) to advance decent work in key global supply chains of key importance.

Malaysia is the world’s largest exporter of rubber gloves, contributing more than 60 per cent of global glove exports. The sector employs around 70,000 workers, of which about 60 per cent are migrant workers.

Visit the AR6 Synthesis Report Climate Change 2023 microsite here for all materials There are multiple, feasible and effective options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to human-caused climate change, and they are available now, said scientists in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released today. “Mainstreaming effective and equitable climate action will not only reduce losses and damages for nature and people, it will also provide wider benefits,” said IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee. “This Synthesis Report underscores the urgency of taking more ambitious action and shows that, if we act now, we can still secure a liveable sustainable future for all.” In 2018, IPCC highlighted the unprecedented scale of the challenge required to keep warming to 1.5°C. Five years later, that challenge has become even greater due to a continued increase in greenhouse gas emissions. The pace and scale of what has been done so far, and current plans, are insufficient to tackle climate change. More than a century of burning fossil fuels as well as unequal and unsustainable energy and land use has led to global warming of 1.1°C above pre-industrial levels. This has resulted in more frequent and more intense extreme weather events that have caused increasingly dangerous impacts on nature and people in every region of the world. Every increment of warming results in rapidly escalating hazards. More intense heatwaves, heavier rainfall and other weather extremes further increase risks for human health and ecosystems. In every region, people are dying from extreme heat. Climate-driven food and water insecurity is expected to increase with increased warming. When the risks combine with other adverse events, such as pandemics or conflicts, they become even more difficult to manage. Losses and damages in sharp focus The report, approved during a week-long session in Interlaken, brings in to sharp focus the losses and damages we are already experiencing and will continue into the future, hitting the most vulnerable people and ecosystems especially hard. Taking the right action now could result in the transformational change essential for a sustainable, equitable world. “Climate justice is crucial because those who have contributed least to climate change are being disproportionately affected,” said Aditi Mukherji, one of the 93 authors of this Synthesis Report, the closing chapter of the Panel’s sixth assessment. “Almost half of the world’s population lives in regions that are highly vulnerable to climate change. In the last decade, deaths from floods, droughts and storms were 15 times higher in highly vulnerable regions,“ she added. In this decade, accelerated action to adapt to climate change is essential to close the gap between existing adaptation and what is needed. Meanwhile, keeping warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels requires deep, rapid and sustained greenhouse gas emissions reductions in all sectors. Emissions should be decreasing by now and will need to be cut by almost half by 2030, if warming is to be limited to 1.5°C. Clear way ahead The solution lies in climate resilient development. This involves integrating measures to adapt to climate change with actions to reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions in ways that provide wider benefits. For example: access to clean energy and technologies improves health, especially for women and children; low-carbon electrification, walking, cycling and public transport enhance air quality, improve health, employment opportunities and deliver equity. The economic benefits for people’s health from air quality improvements alone would be roughly the same, or possibly even larger than the costs of reducing or avoiding emissions. Climate resilient development becomes progressively more challenging with every increment of warming. This is why the choices made in the next few years will play a critical role in deciding our future and that of generations to come. To be effective, these choices need to be rooted in our diverse values, worldviews and knowledges, including scientific knowledge, Indigenous Knowledge and local knowledge. This approach will facilitate climate resilient development and allow locally appropriate, socially acceptable solutions. “The greatest gains in wellbeing could come from prioritizing climate risk reduction for low-income and marginalised communities, including people living in informal settlements,” said Christopher Trisos, one of the report’s authors. “Accelerated climate action will only come about if there is a many-fold increase in finance. Insufficient and misaligned finance is holding back progress.” Enabling sustainable development There is sufficient global capital to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions if existing barriers are reduced. Increasing finance to climate investments is important to achieve global climate goals.Governments, through public funding and clear signals to investors, are key in reducing these barriers. Investors, central banks and financial regulators can also play their part. There are tried and tested policy measures that can work to achieve deep emissions reductions and climate resilience if they are scaled up and applied more widely. Political commitment, coordinated policies, international cooperation, ecosystem stewardship and inclusive governance are all important for effective and equitable climate action. If technology, know-how and suitable policy measures are shared, and adequate finance is made available now, every community can reduce or avoid carbon-intensive consumption. At the same time, with significant investment in adaptation, we can avert rising risks, especially for vulnerable groups and regions. Climate, ecosystems and society are interconnected. Effective and equitable conservation of approximately 30-50% of the Earth’s land, freshwater and ocean will help ensure a healthy planet. Urban areas offer a global scale opportunity for ambitious climate action that contributes to sustainable development. Changes in the food sector, electricity, transport, industry, buildings and land-use can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, they can make it easier for people to lead low-carbon lifestyles, which will also improve health and wellbeing. A better understanding of the consequences of overconsumption can help people make more informed choices. “Transformational changes are more likely to succeed where there is trust, where everyone works together to prioritise risk reduction, and where benefits and burdens are shared equitably,” Lee said. “We live in a diverse world in which everyone has different responsibilities and different opportunities to bring about change. Some can do a lot while others will need support to help them manage the change.”
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Temperature-Scale Equivalents
1.1C = 2.0F
1.5C = 2.7F
  For more information, please contact:
IPCC Press Office: ipcc-media@wmo.int
Lance Ignon, SYR Communications Specialist: ignon@ipcc-syr.org AR6 Synthesis Report in Numbers
Review comments: 6841
Governments: 47 (21 Developed, 2 Economies in transition, 22 Developing, 2 SIDS)
Government Comments: 6636 (1814 Figures, 4822 Text)
Observers: 5
Observer Comments: 205
Core Writing Team members: 49
Review Editors: 9
Extended Writing Team Authors: 7
Contributing Authors: 28
Women: 41
Men: 52
Developing Country Authors: 37
Developed Country Authors: 56 About the IPCC
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. It was established by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 to provide political leaders with periodic scientific assessments about climate change. The IPCC has 195 member states that are members of the UN or WMO. Thousands of people from all over the world contribute to the work of the IPCC. For the assessment reports, experts volunteer their time as IPCC authors to assess the thousands of scientific papers published each year to provide a comprehensive summary of what is known about the drivers of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and how adaptation and mitigation can reduce those risks. An open and transparent review by experts and member governments is an essential part of the IPCC process to ensure an objective and complete assessment and to reflect a diverse range of views and expertise. The IPCC has three working groups: Working Group I, which addresses with the physical science of climate change; Working Group II, which focuses on the impact, adaptation and vulnerability associated with climate change; and Working Group III, which deals with the mitigation of climate change. It also has a Task Force on Greenhouse Gas Inventories that develops methodologies for measuring emissions and removals. IPCC assessments provide governments, at all levels, with scientific information they can use to develop climate policies. IPCC assessments are a key input into the international negotiations to tackle climate change. IPCC reports are drafted and reviewed in several stages to guarantee accuracy, objectivity and transparency.
  About the Sixth Assessment Cycle The IPCC publishes comprehensive scientific assessments every six to seven years. The previous one, the Fifth Assessment Report, was completed in 2014 and provided the main scientific input to The Paris Agreement. At its 41st Session in February 2015, the IPCC decided to produce a Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). At its 42nd Session in October 2015, it elected a new Bureau, which is composed of the IPCC Chair, the IPCC Vice-Chairs, the Co-Chairs and Vice-Chairs of the Working Groups, and the Co-Chairs of the Task Force. At its 43rd Session in April 2016, the IPCC decided to produce three Special Reports, a Methodology Report and AR6.
The Working Group I contribution to AR6, Climate Change 2021: the Physical Science Basis, was released on 9 August 2021. The Working Group II contribution, Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, was released on 28 February 2022. The Working Group III contribution, Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change, was released on 4 April 2022. The IPCC also published the following special reports on more specific issues during the Sixth Assessment Cycle: Global Warming of 1.5°C (2.7°F) in October 2018;
Climate Change and Land in August 2019; and
Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate in September 2019
In May 2019, the IPCC released the 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories
  For more information, please visit www.ipcc.ch. Most videos published by the IPCC can be found on its YouTube channel

The Champions of the Earth award honours individuals, groups, and organizations whose actions have a transformative impact on the environment. This year, UNEP seeks nominations of individuals, organisations, and governments working on sustainable solutions to eliminate plastic pollution. Nominations are open from 14 March to 14 April 2023. Nairobi, 14 March 2023 – The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) today launched a call for nominations for its annual Champions of the Earth award – the UN’s highest environmental honour – to recognize outstanding leaders from government, civil society, and the private sector for their transformative impact on the environment. This year, UNEP seeks nomination of individuals, organisations and governments developing and implementing innovative and sustainable solutions and policies to eliminate plastic pollution.   Following a historic UN Environment Assembly resolution in 2022 to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment with the ambition to complete the negotiations by end of 2024, the year 2023 is critical to ensuring the world comes together to end the scourge of plastic pollution. This year’s World Environment Day, hosted by Cote d'Ivoire, will also focus on efforts to #BeatPlasticPollution. The challenge of the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature loss and pollution and waste is not insurmountable. People around the world are stepping forward every day to innovate and implement ways to support nature’s extraordinary capacity for renewal. The Champions of the Earth help lead that push. They remind us that environmental sustainability is key to achieving sustainable development. Since the award’s inception in 2005, a total of 111 laureates have been honoured as Champions of the Earth: 26 world leaders, 69 individuals and 16 organizations. In 2022, the Champions of the Earth Award received a record number of nominations from all over the world. The growing interest over the years reflects the increasing number of people standing up for the environment and greater acknowledgement of the value of this work.  UNEP’s 2022 Champions of the Earth laureates are: Arcenciel (Lebanon), honoured in the Inspiration and Action category, is a leading environmental enterprise whose work to create a cleaner, healthier environment has laid the foundation for the country’s national waste management strategy. Today, arcenciel recycles more than 80 per cent of Lebanon’s potentially infectious hospital waste every year. Constantino (Tino) Aucca Chutas (Peru), also honoured in the Inspiration and Action category, has pioneered a community reforestation model driven by local and Indigenous communities, which has led to three million trees being planted in the country. He is also leading ambitious reforestation efforts in other Andean countries. Sir Partha Dasgupta (United Kingdom), honoured in the Science and Innovation category, is an eminent economist whose landmark review on the economics of biodiversity calls for a fundamental rethink of humanity’s relationship with the natural world to prevent critical ecosystems from reaching dangerous tipping points. Dr Purnima Devi Barman (India), honoured in the Entrepreneurial Vision category, is a wildlife biologist who leads the “Hargila Army”, an all-female grassroots conservation movement dedicated to protecting the Greater Adjutant Stork from extinction. The women create and sell textiles with motifs of the bird, helping to raise awareness about the species while building their own financial independence. Cécile Bibiane Ndjebet (Cameroon), honoured in the Inspiration and Action category, is a tireless advocate for the rights of women in Africa to secure land tenure, which is essential if they are to play a role in restoring ecosystems, fighting poverty and mitigating climate change. She is also leading efforts to influence policy on gender equality in forest management across 20 African countries. Individuals, government entities, groups and organisations may be nominated under the categories of Policy Leadership, Inspiration and Action, Entrepreneurial Vision, and Science and Innovation. Nominations are open from 14 March to 14 April 2023 to everyone; the Champions of the Earth will be announced in late 2023. Nominate a Champion of the Earth    NOTES TO EDITORS About the UNEP Champions of the Earth
UNEP’s Champions of the Earth honours individuals, groups, and organizations whose actions have a transformative impact on the environment. The annual Champions of the Earth award is the UN’s highest environmental honour. It recognizes outstanding leaders from government, civil society, and the private sector. About the UN Environment Programme
UNEP is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. For more information, please contact:
News and Media Unit, UN Environment Programme  

Nairobi, 27 October 2022 – As intensifying climate impacts across the globe hammer home the message that greenhouse gas emissions must fall rapidly, a new UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report finds that the international community is still falling far short of the Paris goals, with no credible pathway to 1.5°C in place. However, the Emissions Gap Report 2022: The Closing Window – Climate crisis calls for rapid transformation of societies finds that urgent sector and system-wide transformations – in the electricity supply, industry, transport and buildings sectors, and the food and financial systems – would help to avoid climate disaster. “This report tells us in cold scientific terms what nature has been telling us, all year, through deadly floods, storms and raging fires: we have to stop filling our atmosphere with greenhouse gases, and stop doing it fast,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. “We had our chance to make incremental changes, but that time is over. Only a root-and-branch transformation of our economies and societies can save us from accelerating climate disaster.” A wasted year The report finds that, despite a decision by all countries at the 2021 climate summit in Glasgow, UK (COP26) to strengthen Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and some updates from nations, progress has been woefully inadequate. NDCs submitted this year take only 0.5 gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent, less than one per cent, off projected global emissions in 2030. This lack of progress leaves the world hurtling towards a temperature rise far above the Paris Agreement goal of well below 2°C, preferably 1.5°C. Unconditional NDCs are estimated to give a 66 per cent chance of limiting global warming to about 2.6°C over the century. For conditional NDCs, those that are dependent on external support, this figure is reduced to 2.4°C. Current policies alone would lead to a 2.8°C hike, highlighting the temperature implications of the gap between promises and action. In the best-case scenario, full implementation of unconditional NDCs and additional net-zero emissions commitments point to only a 1.8°C increase, so there is hope. However, this scenario is not currently credible based on the discrepancy between current emissions, short-term NDC targets and long-term net-zero targets.  Unprecedented cuts needed To meet the Paris Agreement goals, the world needs to reduce greenhouse gases by unprecedented levels over the next eight years. Unconditional and conditional NDCs are estimated to reduce global emissions in 2030 by 5 and 10 per cent respectively, compared with emissions based on policies currently in place. To get on a least-cost pathway to holding global warming to 1.5°C, emissions must fall by 45 per cent over those envisaged under current policies by 2030. For the 2°C target, a 30 per cent cut is needed. Such massive cuts mean that we need a large-scale, rapid and systemic transformation. The report explores how to deliver part of this transformation in key sectors and systems. “It is a tall, and some would say impossible, order to reform the global economy and almost halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, but we must try,” said Andersen. “Every fraction of a degree matters: to vulnerable communities, to species and ecosystems, and to every one of us.” “Even if we don’t meet our 2030 goals, we must strive to get as close as possible to 1.5°C. This means setting up the foundations of a net-zero future: one that will allow us to bring down temperature overshoots and deliver many other social and environmental benefits, like clean air, green jobs and universal energy access.” Electricity, industry, transport and buildings The report finds that the transformation towards net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in electricity supply, industry, transportation and buildings is underway, but needs to move much faster. Electricity supply is most advanced, as the costs of renewable electricity have reduced dramatically. However, the pace of change must increase alongside measures to ensure a just transition and universal energy access. For buildings, the best available technologies need to be rapidly applied. For industry and transport, zero emission technology needs to be further developed and deployed. To advance the transformation, all sectors need to avoid lock in of new fossil fuel-intensive infrastructure, advance zero-carbon technology and apply it, and pursue behavioural changes. Food systems can reform to deliver rapid and lasting cuts Focus areas for food systems, which account for about a third of greenhouse gas emissions, include protection of natural ecosystems, demand-side dietary changes, improvements in food production at the farm level and decarbonization of food supply chains. Action in these four areas can reduce projected 2050 food system emissions to around a third of current levels, as opposed to emissions almost doubling if current practices are continued. Governments can facilitate transformation by reforming subsidies and tax schemes. The private sector can reduce food loss and waste, use renewable energy and develop novel foods that cut down carbon emissions. Individual citizens can change their lifestyles to consume food for environmental sustainability and carbon reduction, which will also bring many health benefits. The financial system must enable the transformation A global transformation to a low-emissions economy is expected to require investments of at least USD 4-6 trillion a year. This is a relatively small (1.5-2 per cent) share of total financial assets managed, but significant (20-28 per cent) in terms of additional annual resources to be allocated. Most financial actors, despite stated intentions, have shown limited action on climate mitigation because of short-term interests, conflicting objectives and not recognizing climate risks adequately. Governments and key financial actors will need to steer credibly in one direction: a transformation of the financial system and its structures and processes, engaging governments, central banks, commercial banks, institutional investors and other financial actors. The report recommends six approaches to financial sector reform, which must be carried out simultaneously: Make financial markets more efficient, including through taxonomies and transparency. Introduce carbon pricing, such as taxes or cap-and-trade systems. Nudge financial behaviour, through public policy interventions, taxes, spending and regulations. Create markets for low-carbon technology, through shifting financial flows, stimulating innovation and helping to set standards. Mobilize central banks: central banks are increasingly interested in addressing the climate crisis, but more concrete action on regulations is needed. Set up climate “clubs” of cooperating countries, cross-border finance initiatives and just transformation partnerships, which can alter policy norms and change the course of finance through credible financial commitment devices, such as sovereign guarantees.   NOTES TO EDITORS About the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) UNEP is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. For more information, please contact: Keisha Rukikaire, Head of News & Media, UN Environment Programme