From 28 February through 2 March, representatives from 193 Member States, business leaders, civil society, and environmentalists around the world will meet in Nairobi, Kenya, to attend the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5), which is the world’s most important environmental decision-making body.
This event is crucial for the planet as it signals that urgent action must be taken to prevent the worst effects of the triple global crisis of climate change and nature and biodiversity loss. What is UNEA and why are they important?
What is UNEA?
UNEA was created in 2012 by decades of international efforts. They were initiated at the 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm.
UNEA meets to establish priorities for global environmental policies, and to develop international environmental law. The UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP), work is also defined by the decisions and resolutions made by member states at the Assembly. UNEA is, in the words of Achim Steiner (ex-UNEP Executive Director), “the world’s parliament for the environment.”
Why is UNEA important?
UNEA is where countries submit resolutions and make decisions about environmental issues.
The Assembly functions as both a forum for discussion and a decision-making body. This is where governments around the world, civil society groups, scientists, and the private sectors meet to discuss pressing environmental issues and create the framework for future environmental governance.
Why are there two parts to the event?
COVID-19, in short. Multilateralism has been challenged by the pandemic, which has restricted in-person meetings. Many international meetings were delayed or rearranged because of this. In the case UNEA Member States agreed that the meeting would be organized in two steps. The first, UNEA-5.1, was an online-only meeting that took place in February 2021. The second step, UNEA-52.2, will be online and in-person in Nairobi.
Why is UNEA 5.2 important
UNEA-5.2 arrives at a crucial time for the environment. It is the first international meeting on environment after the UN Climate Change Conference, COP26. The decision made at UNEA-5.2 is crucial because the world is facing a triple planetary crises.
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What was the outcome of UNEA-5.1
UNEA-5.1 saw ministers of environment and other leaders representing more than 150 countries participate in the two-day-long online meeting. The Assembly adopted a new Medium Term Strategy, Programme of Work, and budget to UNEP. The new Strategy will take UNEP to 2022-2025. It outlines a vision for UNEP’s role in addressing the triple planet crisis and fulfilling the promises of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
What can be achieved at UNEA 5.2?
One of the most important aspects of this Assembly will include the discussion on the possibility of establishing a international negotiating committee to get started with work towards a global, legally binding agreement to address plastic pollution. The global plastic pollution crisis is so severe that the discussions between the Member States and civil society, the private sector and other participants could be the most important step in the global environmental agenda since 2015’s Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
Other critical issues will be addressed by the Assembly, including nitrogen management and chemical waste, nature-based solutions, biodiversity, and the circular economy. A Leadership Dialogue will also take place with multilateral environmental agreements, (MEAs), on the theme “Strengthening Actions to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”.
Keep checking the UNEA feed to receive updates