Jakarta – The sixth United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) is set to convene in Nairobi later this month, bringing together representatives from 193 Member States. Heralded as the world’s highest environmental decision-making body, the assembly will focus on “Effective, inclusive, and sustainable multilateral actions to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution,” also dubbed the triple planetary crisis.
The global environment is at a tipping point, grappling with the severe impacts of human-induced climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, plastic pollution, and declining air quality. These challenges pose existential threats to Earth’s ecosystems and, by extension, to human life. The collective agreement among policymakers and global citizens on the need for decisive action has never been more pronounced.
Since its inception in 2014, UNEA has convened biennially to forge a holistic approach to the planet’s triple crisis: climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. This year’s assembly in Nairobi marks a critical juncture, with over 70 Ministers and 3,000 delegates expected to attend, indicating a global consensus on the urgency to address these issues.
Inger Andersen, UNEP Executive Director, emphasised the significance of UNEA-6 in her press briefing remarks, highlighting the assembly’s role in shaping global environmental policy through a collaborative effort involving governments, civil society, the scientific community, and the private sector. The assembly will discuss 20 draft resolutions and two draft decisions, aiming to accelerate efforts to mitigate the triple planetary crisis.
The crisis’s impact is particularly severe on the African continent, including Kenya, which faces growing challenges from the effects of climate change, such as extreme weather events, loss of biodiversity, and pollution. Last year’s record temperatures and the operationalisation of the Loss and Damage fund, with over $700 million pledged, signal a global response to these challenges. Additionally, the progress on negotiations for a global instrument on plastic pollution represents a key outcome of previous UNEA sessions.
UNEA-6 seeks to strengthen multilateralism in environmental governance, focusing on united and inclusive action that addresses all aspects of the triple crisis. The assembly will feature a Youth Environment Assembly, leadership dialogues on finance, science, data, digitalisation, and multilateralism, and a day dedicated to consolidating actions under various environmental agreements.
Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change & Forestry, Soipan Tuya, expressed pride in hosting UNEA-6 and highlighted Kenya’s leading role in climate action. The assembly is organised around six thematic areas, with twenty-two resolutions being negotiated. Kenya’s commitment to environmental sustainability is evident in integrating the Nairobi Declaration into its national climate action agenda and its efforts towards a circular economy.
The outcomes of this assembly will be instrumental in guiding the work of UNEP and global efforts to combat the environmental challenges that threaten our shared future. (nsh)
Banner photo: UNEP Executive Director, Inger Andersen and Hon. Soipan Tuya, Cabinet Secretary, Environment, Climate Change & Forestry of the Republic of Kenya stand together ahead of the announcement for the sixth UN Environment Assembly to be held in Nairobi. (Source: UNEP)
