UNEP says upcoming environment assembly to reset global green agenda

NAIROBI, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- The seventh session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7), to be held from Dec. 8 to 12 in Kenya's capital Nairobi, will present a fresh opportunity to strengthen multilateralism and revitalize the global green agenda, senior officials from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) have said.

Inger Andersen, UNEP's executive director, said on Friday at a briefing that UNEA-7 will take place against a backdrop of a fragile geopolitical landscape, necessitating global solidarity to tackle pressing ecological challenges such as climate change.

"UNEA-7 will focus on how we can strengthen multilateralism to deliver united, inclusive action across every strand of the triple planetary crisis, treating it as the single, interconnected challenge it is," Andersen said.

More than 3,000 delegates, including 55 environment ministers from across the globe, are expected to participate in UNEA-7 that will run under the theme of "Advancing Sustainable Solutions for a Resilient Planet," Andersen said.

She added that the five-day forum will discuss 19 draft resolutions and decisions covering artificial intelligence, minerals and metals, tackling wildfires, and hydrological cycles.

While acknowledging that ecological challenges, including pollution, planetary warming, and habitat loss, have intensified, Andersen stressed that UNEA-7 offers a chance to reset global environmental governance and deliver lasting solutions.

Radhika Ochalik, UNEP's director of governance affairs, said that delegations will share successful case studies on the implementation of international environmental treaties that advance the green agenda.

Besides side events covering a wide range of topics, UNEA-7 will also feature exhibitions, high-level panel discussions, while negotiations on draft resolutions will be conducted throughout the forum, according to Ochalik.

She revealed that draft resolutions have been organized around four clusters: nature and climate; governance and law; chemicals, waste, and pollution; and strategic and procedural matters, such as the approval of UNEP's medium-term strategy for 2026-2029.

Deborah Barasa, cabinet secretary in Kenya's Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, and Forestry, said that Kenya will leverage its role as host of UNEA-7 to champion an ambitious and inclusive green agenda that benefits communities and the planet.

Held biennially since 2014, UNEA is the world's highest-level decision-making body on the environment, enjoying universal membership of all 193 UN member states, alongside major groups like civil society, the private sector, and academia. ■