Last Friday, the 6th United Nations Environment Assembly concluded in Nairobi, Kenya. With over 7000 delegates representing 182 member states, a total of 20 resolutions and 2 decisions were debated.
What is the UNEA?
The United Nations Environment Assembly was established in 2012 as a “world parliament on the environment”, with the objective of restoring the harmony between humanity and nature and improving the lives of those most vulnerable to environmental issues. It is the world’s highest decision-making body regarding the environment and addresses critical environmental issues by outlining the priorities for global environmental policies and creating international laws to enforce them. All resolutions are approved by consensus, meaning that every member must be in agreement for a resolution to pass. The UNEA has been responsible for passing several important environmental resolutions over the years, ranging from illegal wildlife trafficking to sustainable urban mobility.
What was the aim of UNEA-6?
According to a recent UNEP report, high-income countries use 6 times more resources and impact the climate 10 times more than low-income countries. It also showed that natural resource extraction is expected to rise by 60% by 2060, which could undermine efforts to resolve the ‘triple planetary crisis’ of climate change, loss of biodiversity and pollution and also have negative repercussions on economic growth and human wellbeing.
The theme for UNEA-6 was ‘Effective, inclusive and sustainable multilateral actions to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution’. Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), said, “The triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature loss and pollution is driven from a crisis of unsustainable consumption and production. We must work with nature, instead of merely exploiting it,”
She listed 6 areas of priority for UNEA-6: water scarcity, responsible mining, mineral management (especially phosphorus), climate-altering technologies, financing environmental actions, and implementation of the Kunming-Montreal framework.
“All we need to do is get together and deliver on these global solutions that we have promised to each other so that we can secure the future for all of humanity, living on a healthy and thriving planet,” says Ms. Anderson.
Outcomes of UNEA-6
Of the 20 resolutions and 2 decisions debated, 15 of the resolutions as well as both decisions were passed, the highest in UNEA history. Discussions ranged from the use of artificial intelligence to help combat climate change to how to combat desertification. The first Multilateral Environmental Agreements Day was also hosted on the 28th.
According to UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, the discussions and outcome of UNEA-6 will accelerate the world’s efforts in working to achieve both Agenda 2063 of the African Union and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The outcome of UNEA-6 will also lead into the UN Summit of the Future that will be taking place this September.
“The world needs action, speed and real, lasting change,” was Inger Anderson’s remark at the closing session of UNEA-6 on Friday.
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