Once called The world’s parliament on the environmentThe UN Environment Assembly has a unique role to play in global environmental governance. This meeting is high-level, universal and the only place for all stakeholders to discuss the environmental issues we face. Rescheduled, and divided into two parts because of the COVID-19 epidemic, the fifth edition of UNEA was rescheduled. Currently underway in NairobiThese meetings will show how they help to shape international environmental policymaking.
UNEA acts as an initiator and catalyst. It initiates negotiations for new bodies or treaties, but it does not end these negotiations. It identifies emerging issues, and (hopefully), agrees on the next steps to learn about and address these issues.
It also serves as a coordinator. It oversees the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) work and was established in 2012 during the Rio+20 negotiations with the goal of strengthening and upgrading UNEP. In less that ten years, UNEA has been a central bodyTo identify, prioritize, coordinate, and coordinate global responses for environmental issues.
UNEA was created in a world that already had many environmental bodies and treaties, each with its own mandate.
UNEA was established in a world with many environmental treaties and bodies. Each body has their own mandate. It must carefully consider existing mandates in its initiator and coordinator roles and avoid adding to already overlapped sets of rules. UNEA emerged as a body that can help to clarify these overlaps, as a first step towards coordinating environmental governance beyond UNEP.
UNEA at Work
UNEA negotiations are different from any other environmental body. UNEA delegates don’t negotiate new treaties. Instead, representatives from countries present resolutions. Sometimes multiple countries will propose a solution to the same issue. These resolutions describe the nature of the problem as well as possible solutions, as they are interpreted by their proponents.
These resolutions are discussed by the Open-Ended Committee of Permanent Representatives, which meets just before UNEA. Proponents often work together at this point to combine multiple resolutions in one joint resolution. Negotiators then refine and rework the ideas, text, and texts.
After OECPR, UNEA convenes. The OECPR should have sent a clean, agreed text. However, there will be some issues that need to be addressed by higher-ranking UNEA delegates. These resolutions are further discussed by UNEA member countries. High-level speeches can be used to signal common interests and priorities. Finally, resolutions (usually) are adopted.
You can say yes or no, or keep talking
Some resolutions do not succeed. India and its supporters failed to make a clear call at UNEA-4 will phase out single-use plasticsHowever, the Ministerial Declaration calls to a phase-out by 2030. In 2019, Switzerland will finally It retracted its proposed resolution on geoengineeringFollowing questions about which technologies are considered geoengineering, and concerns about veering into the climate issues, given established bodies and rules for reducing carbon emissions and building resilience to climate changes, UNEP issued a statement. Others argued UNEP should assess the potential benefits and drawbacks of these technologies before they are deployed extensively.
Some resolutions can be passed and then go directly to implementation. This process can take place in one of two situations. The first scenario occurs when there are already established bodies that can take on additional actions. UNEA identifies additional activities and sends a strong signal that more is needed. The resolution nitrogen managementFor example, identifies organizations that could better coordinate with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
The second scenario occurs when parties fail to agree on the mandate for additional work. A resolution could then be adopted asking UNEP Executive Director to collaborate with existing institutions and regions to strengthen a response. For example: UNEA-3The scope of the resolution on air quality, first proposed by Canada, the African Group, was contested by delegates who debated whether to place a regional or local emphasis on air pollutions effects or stress their transboundary and worldwide consequences. The resolution calls on member states to consider joining global and regional initiatives, and for the UNEP Executive director to look at how to strengthen these efforts.
Other resolutions also trigger a progression, especially when there’s a gap in global Governance. Marine plastics is one example. Since 2014The issue evolved from being identified as a threat global to being a proposal to initiate negotiations for a worldwide treaty. Since then, the Basel ConventionThe governing body for the transboundary movement and disposal of hazardous wastes has made two decisions regarding plastics. Certain plastics are now subject to the import country’s informed consent before shipment. There was also a growing consensus within the Ad Hoc Open-Ended Expert Working groupA global treaty could be necessary for marine litter as established by UNEA.
The UNEA-5 will be resuming its meeting to discuss the establishment of negotiations for a marine plastics convention. This will likely spark intense debate about its scope. It was not an easy task to reach this stage.
The resumed UNEA-5 meetingThe establishment of negotiations for a marine plastics deal will be a consideration. It will likely be heatedly debated. It was not an easy task to reach this stage. There was opposition to the creation of the Working Group. UNEA-4Its role was reduced to a review of existing efforts and considerations of other options.
Strengthening scientific input
UNEA is charged with ensuring that stakeholders have access and participate at the highest levels of global environmental governance. Before UNEA meetings Stakeholders and Major GroupsTo coordinate their responses and civil society input, they should get together. The Youth Environment AssemblyYouth organize this event every year.
Among all these stakeholders and views is science. Science-policy interfacesThey play a vital role in environmental governance. They provide timely information, sound alarms, and evaluate the effectiveness of current efforts. The UNEA has the responsibility of strengthening the scientific basis for environmental action.
The work of the UNEA is overseen by the Global Environmental Outlook(GEO), a report about the state of the global ecosystem that has been published six times since 1997. The GEO was multi-issue and not the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change or the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, (IPBES), nor the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Global Chemicals Outlook. Past GEOs have also attempted to Build capacity to integrate environmental assessmentsInformation on the state, trends, as well as the outlook for the environment. The IPBES and IPCC are similar. GEO-6 Summary for Policymakerswas discussed by members to distill the main messages in the overall report.
At the resumption of UNEA5, the GEO role will be discussed among all the issue-specific or other scientific outlets. How can UNEP’s authoritative flagship report GEO remain relevant while also recognizing the immense work done by other science policy interfaces? The GEO may also be affected by the increasing number of environmental bodies.
How can UNEP’s flagship report on GEO be considered authoritative while recognizing the immense work of other science-policy interfaces, such as the UNEP GEO?
UNEA delegates also support the resolution calling to establish a science-policy interfacing devoted to chemical issues. This type of analogue IPCC for ChemicalsThese interfaces are a fascinating subject that raises interesting questions. They provide expert advice and raise awareness about environmental issues, which is crucial for chemical pollution. This is an unintentional, but still important benefit of these bodies. Due to the unique characteristics and resources required to establish the interface, as well as existing bodies doing similar work, some question whether this is really necessary.
Coordinating Congestion
UNEA was designed to help people find common ground between issues and their efforts. We now have more information about the various multilateral and regional initiatives and agreements in environmental matters than we did before UNEA. UNEA resolutions often recognize that there has been a lot of work done in relation to existing agreements.
It is difficult to work in a crowded environment. All existing agreements are the result of carefully crafted compromises. UNEA must take equal care to avoid causing disruption to these negotiated solutions. UNEA’s purpose is to raise high-level awareness of environmental issues and push for greater ambition. It must tread a delicate line between coordinating and catalyzing action in a growing body international environmental law.
