- Every two years, all 193 UN Member States convene to collectively address critical environmental challenges facing the planet
- Climate Change and Forestry CS, Soipan Tuya said the meeting will build on the outcome of last year’s Africa Climate Summit
Kenya is hosting the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA).
The meeting which began at the United Nations Environment Programme headquarters in Nairobi on Monday brings together more than 5,000 delegates.
Heads of State and Government are expected to attend the event which runs to March 1.
The world’s top decision-making body on the environment is expected to explore a host of pressing environmental issues, from water shortages to the transition to clean energy.
The UNEA-6 will have six key prominent discussions that are predicted to take centre stage and greatly influence UNEA's long-term success.
The six sessions aim to accelerate the global effort to address the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss and pollution and waste.
"No single country can address the triple planetary crisis on its own," Radhika Ochalik said.
Ochalik is the Director of the Governance Affairs Office at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
"These dialogues are intended to drive the global momentum we need to build a more sustainable planet," Ochalik noted.
The six key sessions to look out for include the strengthening the science-policy interface scheduled for February 28 at 10:00 EAT
The second important session on strengthening cooperation between UNEA, UNEP and the multilateral environmental agreements will also take place on the same day at 15:00 EAT
On February 29 delegates will be having a session, 'Superhighway or slow-motion: Are science, data and digitalization speeding our transition to a sustainable future' at 15:00 EAT
Multistakeholder dialogue: Partnering for the Environment session will take place the same day at 16:30 EAT.
On March 1, there will be two key sessions to watch out for.
The first of the two, 'Show me the money: Can the global financial system tackle climate change, nature loss and pollution? will be at 10:00 EAT.
The second, 'Alive and kicking: Environmental multilateralism is a beacon of hope but is it delivering fast enough?' will be held at 11:30 EAT.
Experts, activists, and industry representatives will also participate in the event.
Every two years, all 193 UN Member States convene to collectively address critical environmental challenges facing the planet.
Climate Change and Forestry CS, Soipan Tuya said the meeting will build on the outcome of last year’s Africa Climate Summit.
“As the world’s highest environmental decision-making body, UNEA can address these issues through collective thinking and global actions that focus on diverse aspects of the environment,” the CS said in a supplement in the local dailies.
This sixth edition of UNEA follows a previous event held in Nairobi from February 28 to March 2, 2022.