UNEP is a global authority on environmental issues and has its headquarters in Nairobi. [File, Standard]
On the heels of the accelerated climate crisis brought on by global warming, the United Nations Environment Programme celebrates its 50th year anniversary. Dubbed “Dancing with the Stars” [email protected], the commemoration in Gigiri, Nairobi has seen more than 400 environmental delegates from across the globe jet into the country to deliberate on what UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen calls ‘the environmental emergency of here and now.’
The issues to be tackled, according to a draft during the 8th annual subcommittee meeting of UNEP’s Committee of Permanent Representatives, include plastic pollution, green recovery, climate adaptation, nitrogen pollution, mineral resources governance, biodiversity loss and health.
Andersen stated that climate change, pollution, and the imminent extinction of one-million species are the “triple planet crisis” that threatens all life on Earth.
The committee oversees the implementation of UNEP’s programmes besides preparations for the fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA 5-2), the world’s highest-level decision-making body on environment, which takes place today.
The 50th anniversary of UNep, between March 3 and 4, will be an important moment to “elevate and strengthen UNep, said Andersen, “allowing it to play an even bigger role in addressing climate change, pollution and the looming extinction of 1 million species.”
In a statement, officials noted that [email protected]This was a time to reflect back on the past, and to envision the future. Although no country or continent is able to solve these global crises all by itself, each individual has a critical role in protecting the planet.
UNep was founded in 1972 to monitor the state of the environment, inform policy-making with science and coordinate responses to the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.
To mark UNep’s 50th anniversary, a year-long series of activities and outreach events are taking place under the [email protected] banner and the overall theme of “Strengthening UNEP for the implementation of the environmental dimension of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”