UNEA-6: Supporting ambition at the world’s highest environmental decision-making body
Preparing for the sixth session of the UN Environment Assembly to kick off in Kenya on Monday, UNEP-WCMC’s Deputy Director Melissa de Kock shares her hopes for progress at the conference and explores what the UNEP-WCMC delegation will be involved with over the next week. ?
More than 5,000 heads of state, ministers, government representatives, civil society representatives – including Indigenous Peoples, UN officials and business leaders – are currently gathering in Nairobi for the sixth session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-6). Over the next week, these representatives’ combined experience and expertise will be brought to bear on how multilateral solutions can help tackle the triple planetary crisis of climate change, loss of nature and pollution.
With its universal membership of all 193 UN Member States, the world’s highest-level decision-making body on the environment has a track record of delivering for the environment, passing 90 resolutions since it was established in 2012. The discussions and decisions taken during UNEA-6 will set the ambition and direction for the UN Environment Programme, and the world, for action on the environment over the next two years, and to deliver on the Paris Agreement , the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Global Framework on Chemicals .
UNEA-6 follows the sixth Open-ended Committee of Permanent Representatives , during which the content and wording of proposed resolutions, declarations and decisions was deliberated. Member States and stakeholders considered 20 resolutions and two decisions relating to:
Two resolutions on water were merged, and the remaining 19 resolutions and two decisions will forwarded to the sixth UN Environmental Assembly (UNEA-6) with the aim of reaching consensus? on the text of each. However, informal consultations will continue over the weekend, during which Member States will continue their discussions and text revisions in an effort to move them closer to finalisation and then adoption during UNEA 6.
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Together with five other delegates from the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) who will be on the ground in Nairobi, I am hugely excited about the opportunities UNEA-6 offers. We are supporting scaled-up ambition for nature across a number of pressing environmental issues that will be discussed, and will be closely following the resolutions that are to be negotiated.
A side event co-hosted by Nigeria and Costa Rica will elevate discussions on the opportunities presented by nature-based solutions (NbS), and builds on the Intergovernmental Consultations of last year , after which eight key recommendations were developed to progress NbS. It includes a high-level segment, as well as a panel discussion, which will be moderated by UNEP-WCMC’s Head of NbS Najma Mohamed . The side event will seek to maintain the strong progress on NbS, following the Resolution that defined them multilaterally for the first time in February 2022 at UNEA-5/. Reflecting on the publication of the eight recommendations that recognised concerns around the ecological and social integrity of NbS interventions, Member State and stakeholder representatives will discuss how to best move forward now.
We will also be keeping up the momentum on action for migratory species, following the stark findings presented earlier this month by our scientists in the world’s first ‘State of Migratory Species’ report, which was launched at the Fourteenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals. Our Director Neville Ash will moderate a session reflecting on the important progress made at COP14 – described by CMS Executive Secretary Amy Fraenkel as “the best CMS COP ever”.
Our Lead Marine Scientist Chris Mcowen is on the ground to follow negotiations on strengthening ocean governance and support an event on how to take forward implementation of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction treaty , also known as the UN High Seas Treaty.
And the expertise and insights of our TRADEHub team will be vital as they observe discussions around sustainable lifestyles, the use of natural resources and inclusivity.
As Member States and UNEA delegates engage in these vital discussions on addressing critical international environmental priorities, the need for support to help countries act now is clear. To this end, we are supporting an event aiming to accelerate implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework, also known as the Biodiversity Plan . I hope that this reminder of the power of multilateralism will inspire countries to develop the solutions that are so desperately needed at this year’s meeting.