The world’s leading environmental decision-makers have convened in Nairobi, Kenya, for the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6). Starting on Monday, this pivotal gathering brings together governments, civil society groups, scientists, and private sector leaders to collaborate on urgent solutions to global environmental crises, including climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss.
“None of us live on an island. We live on planet Earth, and we are all connected,” stated Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which is spearheading the assembly. “The only way we can solve some of these problems is by talking together.”
At UNEA-6, member states are set to discuss twenty draft resolutions addressing a spectrum of critical issues. These include restoring degraded lands, combating dust storms, and reducing the environmental impact of metal and mineral mining. The assembly adopts resolutions by consensus, setting the stage for countries to implement agreed-upon actions.
In the previous session held in 2022, also in Nairobi, governments achieved a significant milestone by adopting fourteen resolutions. One of the most notable was the commitment to create a legally binding instrument aimed at ending plastic pollution globally. Andersen hailed it as the most significant environmental multilateral deal since the Paris Agreement.
Despite differing priorities among countries, Andersen expressed optimism about the progress of the current discussions. She noted that there is generally “a forward movement” on all draft resolutions for this year’s meeting.
With a focus on strengthening multilateralism, UNEP aims to build on past successful agreements it has facilitated, such as the Minamata Convention on Mercury and the Montreal Protocol, which has been instrumental in healing the ozone layer. Andersen emphasized the importance of collective action in addressing environmental challenges that transcend national borders.
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UN member states meet to plan solutions to global environmental crises
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