UNEP executive director Inger Andersen didn’t mince her words in her opening statement to the sixth UN Environment Assembly –UNEA-6 – currently taking place in Nairobi.
She commented that the world is facing a triple planetary crisis – the crises of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and of pollution and waste.
‘We’ve all felt and seen the impacts – baking heat, intense storms, vanishing nature and species, failing soils, deadly dirty air, oceans stuffed with plastic waste and much more. These impacts fall hardest upon the poor and vulnerable, who are least responsible for them, but nobody is immune,’ Inger Andersen said.
‘The whole world needs to get behind action on the environment if we are to have any chance of meeting the Sustainable Development Goals. So, it is encouraging that this UNEA boasts an unprecedented global presence, unity and inclusivity.’
UNEA-6 brings together more than 7300 registered delegates, 190 countries represented, and over 150 ministers and vice ministers. These are all record highs for a UN Environment Assembly.
‘We are living in a time of turmoil. And I know that in this room, there are people who are, or who know, those deeply affected by this turmoil. Our response must demonstrate that multilateral diplomacy can deliver,’ commented Leila Benali, President of UNEA-6 and Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development for the Kingdom of Morocco.
‘As we meet here in 2024, we must be self-critical and work towards inclusive, networked and effective multilateralism that can make a tangible difference to people’s lives. At this UN Environment Assembly, we must accelerate multilateral action to strengthen the environmental foundation of sustainable development.’
