Next month, the United Nations Environment Assembly will hold its fifth session in Kenya.
The session will be held at Gigiri from February 28 to March 2. It will focus on environmental challenges.
The UN Environment Programme will host this conference. It is expected to bring together representatives of 193 member countries, businesses, civil societies, and other stakeholders.
The delegation will agree on policies to address the most pressing environmental issues in the world.
The theme of the conference is Strengthening Actions For Nature to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals.
UNEP stated that this theme highlights the important role nature plays in our lives, as well as in socio-economic and environmentally sustainable development.
It said that UNEA-5 was an opportunity for the member countries to share best practices in sustainability.
It will give governments the momentum to continue and catalyze multilateral environmental efforts to restore and protect the natural world that our economies and societies rely on.
The assembly will cover the following areas: nature for climate change; human and ecosystem health; nature for poverty eradication; jobs and economic prosperity; sustainable food systems.
The Assembly will hold a Special session on March 3 & 4, immediately following UNEA-5.2. This special session is dedicated to the 50th anniversary since the creation of UN Environment Programme in 1972.
Kenya is currently dealing with the impacts of climate change, such as droughts or rising water levels in its lakes.
Droughts that have ravaged different parts of the country are already considered a national disaster.
Many have been displaced by the rising waters of Lake Victoria and Rift Valley.
Unep has called on the protection and restoration of nature to be one of the solutions to climate change.
Unep claimed that the world is warming faster now than ever before.
The global average temperature is now 1.1C warmer than it was at the beginning century.
If this heating continues, it could have catastrophic humanitarian, ecological, and economic consequences. It could cause food shortages, megafires, rising sea level, and even extreme weather.
Without Global greenhouse gas emissions will fall 7.6 percent each year between 2020-2030, which means the world will lose the chance to reach the 1.5C temperature goal set forth in the Paris Agreement.
One of the most effective strategies to combat climate change is to restore and protect nature, both on land and in water.
Forests, wetlands, or other ecosystems act as a buffer against extreme weather, protecting homes, crops, water supplies, vital infrastructure, and protecting houses.
UNEP stated that conserving and restoring these ecosystems would help preserve planetary stability as societies recover from the effects of Covid-19.
UNEP’s 2020 Emissions Gap Report showed that a green pandemic recovery can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 25% in 2030 and bring the world closer toward the two-degree Celsius goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change.
It is crucial to enforce environmental standards and policies that prevent further emissions.
For example, in 2020, 15 African countries announced strict new rules for vehicle emissions and fuel efficiency.
Also, countries need to stop subsidizing fossil fuels and invest heavily in low-emissions technology and zero-carbon infrastructure.
As far as possible, emergency fiscal measures to stop a global recession must align with the Sustainable Development Goals and Paris climate change agreement.
(Edited By Bilha Makokha
