Sixth session of the United Nations
Environment Assembly (UNEA-6)

Effective, inclusive andsustainable multilateral
actions to tackle climatechange, biodiversity loss
and pollution
Report of the Executive Director

Contents
I. Introduction

3

II. Environmental multilateralism

6

III. Solutions-oriented shifts

10

IV. Bolder multilateral action

14

V. Responding to the call: Elevating the environment in the multilateral system

30

VI. Conclusion

34

Photo credit Ocean Image Bank / RenataRomeo

I. Introduction

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At a time of increasing inequality, with a cost-of-living crisis bearing down on the poorest and mostvulnerable, with conflict and insecurity, and with the Sustainable Development Goals seeing a backwards
slide,1 tackling the environmental crises of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, including
desertification and pollution and waste, might appear, of course, to be a lesser priority than the immediacyof hunger, discrimination, disease and conflict. But as Prime Minister Indira Gandhi said in her speech at theUnited Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm in 1972, “Are not poverty and need thegreatest polluters?”

2
The urgency of addressing the three planetary environmental crises through this social lens report. From
Stockholm in 1972 to Rio in 1992, and from Rio+20 in 2012 to the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015: A
sustainable and just environment is necessary for a thriving and sustainable society and economy. Tackling
the environmental dimension of sustainable development is not only critical for the sake of the “earthsystems” that regulate climate, weather patterns and the water cycle, and more, it is also the foundation fordevelopment, poverty eradication, justice, peace and stability. But at the midpoint for the achievement of the
Sustainable Development Goals, and while still feeling the ripple effects of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
pandemic, more than half of the world is being left behind. Progress on more than 50 per cent of Sustainable
Development Goal targets is weak or insufficient. It has stalled or gone into reverse across 30 per cent of thetargets: more people are living in extreme poverty than four years ago, hunger has risen to levels not seen
since 2005, and, on current trends, gender equality is still nearly 300 years away.2

3
However, the reality is that planet Earth is under ever more intense pressure from climate change, nature andbiodiversity loss, and pollution and waste. The warming climate could breach the crucial 1.5°C threshold assoon as 2027,3 and the world’s biodiversity is being destroyed at the fastest rate in human history.4 Air, waterand land pollution are rising to alarming levels, with pollution causing 9 million premature deaths every year,5
while nature loss and land degradation are leading harvests to fail and communities to suffer.

1 United Nations, The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023 (United Nations publication, 2023). Available at https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2023/TheSustainable-Development-Goals-Report-2023.pdf.
2 Ibid.
3 World Meteorological Organization, “Global temperatures set to reach new records in next five years”, press release, 17 May 2023. Available at https://public.wmo.int/en/
media/press-release/global-temperatures-set-reach-new-records-next-five-years.
4 Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, “Nature’s Dangerous Decline ‘Unprecedented’; Species Extinction Rates ‘Accelerating’“, press release, 5 May 2019. Available at https://www.ipbes.net/news/Media-Release-Global-Assessment.
5 Fuller and others, “Pollution and health: a progress update”, Lancet Planet Health, 6 (6): e535–e547 (June 2022). Available at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35594895/.

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At the root of this environmental reality is a hard but undeniable truth: humanity’s relationship with thenatural world is broken. But humanity cannot afford this reality. Our collective economic and social well-being
depends on nature and its services.6 Some quantified estimates suggest that more than half the world’s GDP
is derived from nature.7 Without a radical shift to include the full value of nature in economic decision-making,to move towards more sustainable consumption and production patterns, and to achieve a just transition
towards a circular economy that delivers for all, the future is at risk. Ecosystems – from forests, grasslands
and peatlands to oceans, rivers, savannahs and mountains – provide a vast range of services vital to thesurvival of humanity. Yet every year humans use more resources than the planet can sustainably provide.8 A
sustainable planet requires finding a balance between nature and humanity, recognizing that clean and healthy
ecosystems are the foundation of collective well-being. The good news is that nature, if given half a chance,
can bounce back. But it needs help to do so.

5
Effective, inclusive, and sustainable multilateral action is a powerful tool to regain the balance lost, but it
must be used to deliver transformative solutions that address the interconnected nature of the multiple
crises we face. At a time of growing polarization across the world, finding common purpose can seem like anelusive goal. Yet recent achievements show that multilateralism is not only possible, but the only way forward.
Strong science, political resolve and societal engagement are the key ingredients for crafting inclusive andtransformative solutions that can put planetary health at the heart of economic decision-making, address andreverse social inequalities, and bring shared prosperity and equity.

6
Digital technology and innovation remain indispensable allies of the desired change, provided they gohand in hand with environmental sustainability. This requires intentional digital governance and a systems
transformation, enabled by public-private partnerships and capacity and behavioural shifts, that can position
digital infrastructures, as well as markets, supply chains, consumer incentives and norms, to effectively deliver
sustainable digital solutions for a more resilient and nature-positive future.

6 United Nations Environment Programme and United Nations Environment Management Group, “Delivering on the vision of the 1972 Stockholm Declaration and achieving
the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – A UN system contribution to Stockholm +50” (United Nations Environment Management Group, 2022). Available at https://
wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/39620.
7 World Economic Forum, Nature Risk Rising: Why the Crisis Engulfing Nature Matters for Business and the Economy (WEF, 2020). Available at https://www3.weforum.org/
docs/WEF_New_Nature_Economy_Report_2020.pdf.
8 “About Earth Overshoot Day”. Available at https://www.overshootday.org/about-earth-overshoot-day/ (accessed on 8 Sept. 2023).

Photo credit UNEP

II. Environmental
multilateralism

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Despite ongoing disruptions from the pandemic and rising sociopolitical tensions, the past two years havedelivered much-needed wins for environmental cooperation, spanning several interconnected agendas, fromwater to digitalization and from food systems to human rights. All of these had one common thread: they
delivered transformative actions towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. At the start of 2022,
50 years of environmental successes were celebrated, and a catalytic reflection on the future took place in theform of two mutually supporting events: UNEP@50 and Stockholm+50. These events reinforced the mandate
and positioning of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as the leading global authority on theenvironment and delivered a global call for renewal and trust to achieve a healthy planet and prosperity forall.9, In May 2022, the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, at
its fifteenth meeting, adopted important decisions to improve drought resilience, reduce land degradation, andinvest in land restoration efforts, with a strong focus on future-proofing land use, accelerating preparedness,and improving partnerships for integrated landscape investments.10 A landmark moment came in themonths that followed, as the General Assembly recognized the universal human right to a clean, healthy andsustainable environment.11 This gives strong ammunition for enacting constitutional and legal changes thatcan positively impact the environment and human well-being, including by supporting environmental rightsbased claims in legal systems. The United Nations Conference on the Midterm Comprehensive Review of the
Implementation of the Objectives of the International Decade for Action, “Water for Sustainable Development”,
2018–2028 – the first such conference in a generation – launched commitments and initiatives at all scales toaddress water and sanitation challenges and meet global climate and biodiversity targets under a new Water
Action Agenda,12 while the 2023 United Nations Food Systems Stocktaking Moment delivered concrete andaccelerated efforts to transform food systems with unprecedented clarity, ambition and innovation.13

9 See “Political declaration of the special session of the United Nations Environment Assembly to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of the United
Nations Environment Programme” (UNEP/EA.SS.1/4) (8 March 2022) and the website “Stockholm+50 Recommendations and Actions for Renewal and Trust” (https://www.
stockholm50.global/resources/stockholm50-recommendations-and-actions-renewal-and-trust) (accessed on 8 Sept. 2023).
10 Available at https://www.unccd.int/convention/cop-decisions.
11 General Assembly resolution 76/300 of 28 July 2022 on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
12 “Water Action Agenda”. Available at https://sdgs.un.org/partnerships/action-networks/water (accessed on 8 Sept. 2023).
13 “Secretary-General’s Call to Action for accelerated Food Systems Transformation” (UN Food Systems Coordination Hub, 26 July 2023). Available at https://www.
unfoodsystemshub.org/fs-stocktaking-moment/documentation/un-secretary-general-call-to-action/en.

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Multilateral wins against the three planetary environmental crises also delivered significant gains. Climate
action was boosted by a breakthrough agreement on the provision of “loss and damage” funding forcountries hit hard by climate change.14 While there is still a considerable distance to travel to make thisfunding a reality, the decision has been heralded as a first step towards climate justice for the nations thathave contributed the least to climate change but are the most affected. The twenty-seventh Conference of theParties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change also saw the approval of a packageof decisions that reaffirmed the commitment to limit warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and provided
a way forward for the Global Goal on Adaptation.15 Yet, while investment in renewable energy is at an all-timehigh and the prices of energy produced from non-carbon sources are lower than ever before, the harsh reality
is that under existing commitments the required changes are not being made fast enough.16

9
On the nature front, there was a breakthrough for biodiversity. The historic Kunming-Montreal Global
Biodiversity Framework, sealed in December 2022, set out measures to protect biodiversity, ensure its
sustainable use, and promote fair and equitable benefit-sharing.17 It also enshrined the establishment of a
new biodiversity fund with significantly scaled-up financing. Further, the Agreement under the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversityof Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (also known as the High Seas Treaty), agreed by 193 countries inMarch 2023, will help achieve the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework by creatinga framework for marine protected areas on the high seas. It is worth recalling that marine biodiversity within
national jurisdictions has been managed under the suite of UNEP-enabled and (in many cases) UNEP-hosted
regional seas conventions. These conventions, established under the auspices of UNEP starting in the 1970s,
continue to demonstrate that international cooperation on shared marine resources is both feasible and a winwin undertaking for all involved. The regional seas conventions are therefore an important foundation fromwhich to draw lessons and experience for the new oceans treaty. However, while significant progress has been
made in addressing the biodiversity crisis, there is now a need to design and nurture an inclusive, concerted
effort to implement both the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the High Seas Treaty andachieve the desired targets.

14 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, “COP27 reaches breakthrough agreement on new ‘loss and damage’ fund for vulnerable countries”, press
release, 20 Nov. 2022. Available at https://unfccc.int/news/cop27-reaches-breakthrough-agreement-on-new-loss-and-damage-fund-for-vulnerable-countries.
15 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, “Glasgow-Sharm el-Sheikh work programme on the global goal on adaptation”. Available at https://unfccc.int/
topics/adaptation-and-resilience/workstreams/glasgow-sharm-el-sheikh-WP-GGGA (accessed on 8 Sept. 2023).
16 International Energy Agency, World Energy Outlook – 2022 (Paris: IEA, 2022). Available at https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2022.
17 Convention on Biological Diversity, document CBD/COP/DEC/15/4 (19 Dec. 2022), decision 15/4, “Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework”. Available athttps://www.cbd.int/doc/decisions/cop-15/cop-15-dec-04-en.pdf.

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Pollution was placed at the centre of a multilateral and solutions-oriented global movement. Following the
global commitment to move towards a pollution-free planet reached at the third session of the United Nations
Environment Assembly18 and the subsequent implementation plan welcomed at the fourth session, 19 in 2022,
as a result of the fifth session of the Assembly, negotiations began on the first-ever international legallybinding instrument to end plastic pollution.20 The science-policy interface was galvanized by the mandate,also resulting from the fifth session, to establish a science-policy panel on chemicals, waste and pollution
prevention,21 with an open-ended working group subsequently convening to prepare proposals for the panel.22
In parallel, after 15 years of negotiations, the conferences of the parties to the Basel Convention on theControl of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, the Rotterdam Convention
on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International
Trade, and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants held in May 2023 led to the adoptionof a compliance mechanism under the Stockholm Convention. This means that all three conventions, like theMinamata Convention on Mercury, now have compliance mechanisms in place. Meanwhile, the Stockholm
Convention listed two plastic additives for eventual phase-out, an important contribution to the momentum
for tackling plastic pollution. Furthermore, discussions continued on the development of a successor to theStrategic Approach to International Chemicals Management beyond 2020 – a vital global framework for thesound management of chemicals and waste.23

18 See the ministerial declaration of the United Nations Environment Assembly at its third session, “Towards a pollution-free planet” (UNEP/EA.3/HLS.1) (6 Dec. 2017).
19 Resolution 4/21, “Implementation plan ‘Towards a pollution-free planet’ ”.
20 Resolution 5/14, “End plastic pollution: towards an international legally binding instrument”.
21 Resolution 5/8 on a science-policy panel to contribute further to the sound management of chemicals and waste and to prevent pollution.
22 See the website for the process at https://www.unep.org/oewg-spp-chemicals-waste-pollution (accessed on 8 Sept. 2023).
23 See https://www.saicm.org/Beyond2020/IntersessionalProcess/FourthIntersessionalmeeting/tabid/8226/language/en-US/Default.aspx (accessed on 8 Sept. 2023).

Photo credit UNEP

III.Solutions-oriented
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Multilateral efforts to address the environmental crises of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss,
and pollution and waste are deeply interconnected but also highly fragmented. While there is broad
understanding and acceptance that progress in one domain frequently supports and underpins efforts inothers, the fragmentation of the environmental agenda remains a major challenge. This dichotomy is seen at
the local, national, regional and global levels, where actions by one community have intrinsic linkages with andimpacts on other communities. For example, mitigating climate change and reducing pollution address two of
the most serious threats to biodiversity; conserving natural habitats is a powerful way to sequester carbon andfilter pollution; and reducing pollution protects biodiversity and supports resilience to future climate change.
Conversely, an absence of action in one area has implications in others, with impacts across time and space.

12
Commitments are many, but implementation is sketchy and financing inadequate. For years, the results ofnegotiation have not been matched by the requisite finance or action on the ground. This must change. The
three Rio conventions were adopted in 1992, yet implementation has been insufficient to the point that climatechange and ecosystem degradation now present existential threats, particularly for vulnerable communities.
To deliver the necessary solutions, the focus on finance as well as implementation must intensify.

13
The Sustainable Development Goals were framed to encourage integrated resource management andnexus thinking for environmental, economic and social solutions. Today’s institutional endeavours are notnecessarily following through on that promise, and much remains to be done to break down silos and foster
collaborative action. For example, efforts and resources to achieve poverty reduction and tackle complex
humanitarian issues do not always account for environmental damage, while environmental measures
are often formulated or implemented without consideration for their impact on the root causes of poverty,
economic security and conflict. Meanwhile, financing, capacity-building and technology are not nearly on trackwith the level of ambition agreed on during international negotiations, although progress has been made over
time.

14
The good news is that environmental multilateralism has unprecedented tools at its disposal. Real-timeknowledge about the health of the planet; better capacity to predict and anticipate future risks; activism byyoung people across the world against social injustices; and the environmental awakening of the finance andbusiness worlds are all prime examples of powerful tools for revamping the scale and pace of multilateral
action.

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As emerging issues and integrative solutions are highlighted, multilateral attention must follow. Data-driven
foresight can help anticipate and answer critical questions: Is the international community moving fastenough to prevent, prepare for and respond to the next pandemic, given the pending threat of antimicrobial
resistance?24 Can the responsible management of artificial intelligence enable the rapid deployment ofinnovative solutions for collective well-being?25 Other questions we must tackle include whether it is possible
to elevate environmental justice through legal recognition and implementation of the rights of nature andof future generations.26 These questions are examples of what is under discussion in a variety of forums
and with various degrees of understanding, progress and agreement. It is clear that they have enormous
implications for current and future trends in environmental, social and economic development, and must
therefore be closely watched, including by UNEP.

16
In his 2021 report Our Common Agenda, 27 the Secretary-General issued an ambitious call to improve
international cooperation through more effective, inclusive and networked multilateralism. A central
objective of effective multilateralism, also underlined at the Stockholm+50 gathering, is the strengthening ofgovernance arrangements that can protect human life on a living planet and secure the achievement of the
Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in this Decade of Action.28

24 See General Assembly resolution 76/257 of 29 March 2022 on elevating pandemic prevention, preparedness and response to the highest level of political leadership.
25 See, for example, on the same topic, “Road map for digital cooperation: implementation of the recommendations of the High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation: report of
the Secretary-General” (A/74/821) (29 May 2020). Available at https://www.un.org/en/content/digital-cooperation-roadmap/.
26 The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework adopted in December 2022 by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity at its
fifteenth session explicitly recognized the importance of rights of nature. It notes that, for countries that recognize them, “rights of nature and rights of Mother Earth” are an
integral part of the Framework’s successful implementation.
27 United Nations, Our Common Agenda – Report of the Secretary-General (New York: United Nations, 2021).
28 See General Assembly resolution 75/280 of 24 May 2021 on the international meeting entitled “Stockholm+50: a healthy planet for the prosperity of all − our
responsibility, our opportunity”

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The urgency of the climate crisis, the nature and biodiversity loss crisis, the pollution and waste crisisand the associated polycrises, including poverty and inequality, are threatening the achievement of the
Sustainable Development Goals. Bold multilateral action is required, along with systemic shifts in how it ispursued. This action should be:
a Solutions-focused: Implementing practical measures that improve the well-being of people andplanet at scale;b Inclusive: Incorporating the voices of those often marginalized in political decision-making,particularly women and girls, racial and ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, older people,
LGBTQI+ people, Indigenous Peoples and those at risk of being left furthest behind. This must go
beyond merely adding seats at a table – a transformation is required towards more networked
and better-connected decision-making that breaks boundaries and legitimizes meaningful
representation;c Transparent: Ensuring universal access to public data and knowledge, and building common
assessments of global risks that enable informed and anticipatory choices;d Integrated: Bridging institutional and technical silos to foster a consolidated response that spansinterconnected domains and actors from the regional, national and local governance spheres;e Just: Ensuring that the benefits of a sustainable transition are widely shared, while recognizing thatthose who have benefitted from decades of planetary exploitation have a special responsibility toact;
f Rights-based: Ensuring that inalienable rights guide all actions, including the human right to a clean,healthy and sustainable environment;g Forward-looking: Mindful of future generations who do not yet have a voice, while involving current
generations and youth in decision-making with greater agency and authority.

Photo credit UNEP

IV. Bolder multilateral
action

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The United Nations Environment Assembly, whose establishment was approved in 2012 during the United
Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), was created to strengthen the international
response to environmental challenges. The result of 40 years of work following the United Nations
Conference on the Human Environment (also known as the Stockholm Conference) of 1972, the Assembly
provides an unparalleled platform for countries to come together to tackle pressing environmental issues.

19
As the highest-level global decision-making body on environmental issues, the Environment Assembly is aforum with unique authority to reach global agreement on the most pressing and emerging environmental
issues. Armed with the right focus and political resolve, the Assembly has put science on the global
multilateral table and shaped historic results for people and planet. It has provided a biennial boost to action
on a range of issues, particularly those that are not the focus of specific conventions.

20
Since the Environment Assembly first met in 2014, its five sessions have generated considerable political
momentum and yielded results on a variety of critically important issues. These include air pollution,
financing for development, plastics, marine litter, environmental education, water management, sustainableconsumption and production, climate change, illegal trade in wildlife, and protecting the environment in areas
affected by armed conflict and disasters, among many others.

21
As the world grapples with fragmented multilateralism, the Environment Assembly must be a standardbearer as an effective, inclusive and multilateral forum where solutions are sought and agreement isreached: an Assembly that watches over the world, scales up action and responds to its most criticalchallenges, an Assembly that highlights emerging environmental issues while scanning the horizon for future
problems, an Assembly that consolidates agendas, decisions and stakeholders to fill the gaps in international
environmental governance, a bolstered Assembly that can play its part in revamping multilateralism whileproviding greater capabilities to the entire United Nations system and Member States to achieve theSustainable Development Goals.

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With this history and with the responsibility of the Environment Assembly in mind, the UNEP secretariat
has identified six areas where the Assembly may wish to compel more effective, inclusive and sustainablemultilateral action: (a) implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework; (b) advancing
integrated approaches for a water-secure world; (c) ensuring responsible mining and sustainable minerals
and metals use; (d) advancing cooperation concerning nutrients, especially phosphorus; (e) reviewing climatealtering technologies and measures; and (f) aligning the financial system for sustainability.

A. Implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global
Biodiversity Framework
Photo credit Jordan Robins / Ocean Image Bank

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23
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework sets out an ambitious, targeted plan for halting andreversing global biodiversity loss. Its adoption was a milestone in multilateral environmental governance that
UNEP was delighted to support.

24
But the hard work comes now, and UNEP has a key role to play. While the Kunming-Montreal Global
Biodiversity Framework provides a framework for action, ultimately its success or failure will lie in how fullyand effectively it is implemented. UNEP holds important responsibility, being one of the leading implementing
agencies of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and, in cooperation with the secretariat of the Convention, it
stands ready to help Member States and all other relevant stakeholders achieve the 23 action-oriented global
targets. The Environment Assembly can accelerate and scale up the role of UNEP to ensure full support for the
implementation of the Framework, including the mobilization of finance and support with updating national
strategies and plans and complying with its monitoring and reporting mechanism.

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Indigenous Peoples are pivotal agents of change, playing a significant role in safeguarding biodiversity,
securing food supplies, and mitigating the effects of climate change. Globally, Indigenous Peoples arecustodians of 80 per cent of the planet’s biodiversity,29 with 5,000 unique traditional cultures and ancestral
lands covering 32 per cent of all global land and inland waters across 90 countries. Therefore, it is only fitting
for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework to incorporate the rights of Indigenous Peoples
across its targets.30

26
As was agreed at the fifth session of the Environment Assembly, nature-based solutions must include social
safeguards for Indigenous Peoples, but broader recognition and implementation of indigenous rights andknowledge is needed across the spectrum of sustainable development and environmental governance.31
For instance, some interventions grounded in nature-based solutions could result in displacement; livelihood
restrictions; “green grabbing” of traditional territories, lands and resources; and subsequent cultural and social
impacts, including culturally and contextually inappropriate ecosystem restoration initiatives. Furthermore,
as environmental defenders, Indigenous Peoples continue to face severe risks, with more than 1,700
environmental activists murdered in the past decade.

27
Formal engagement of Indigenous Peoples in national environmental planning, target setting andmonitoring, in particular, remains crucial to secure more effective and equitable decision-making and toadvance human rights. Further, Indigenous Peoples must be granted increasing opportunities to accessfinance for a just transition and circular economy. Without these conditions, they will continue to suffer humanrights violations, widespread discrimination and exclusion from decision-making, and the ambition of theKunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework will not be achieved.

28
Member States may wish to direct UNEP to enhance engagement with the Convention on Biological Diversity
and its constituencies in order to review and identify the most effective pathways, including financing
opportunities, offered by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework to improve Indigenous
Peoples’ collective rights and actions. This could include exploring how the entire United Nations system
and multilateral environmental agreements can better support Member States in their efforts to bring greater
focus and broader recognition to these rights and actions in the context of the Framework.

29 L. Etchart, “The role of Indigenous Peoples in combating climate change”, Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 3 (17085) (Aug. 2017). Available at https://www.nature.com/articles/palcomms201785.
30 Convention on Biological Diversity, “2030 Targets (with guidance notes)”. Available at https://www.cbd.int/gbf/targets/ (accessed on 8 Sept. 2023).
31 See the report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/36/46) (1 Nov. 2017).

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B. Advancing integrated approaches for awater-secure world
Photo credit Prashanth Vishwanathan / IWMI

18

29
Water is vital for achieving various internationally agreed goals and targets, including those of the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Paris
Agreement. The United Nations 2023 Water Conference reasserted the crucial role of water in meeting thesecommitments and its central role in achieving food security, human health, energy production, industrial andeconomic development, and healthy terrestrial and marine ecosystems.32

30
Unsustainable human activities, poor management, pollution, ecosystem degradation and climate change
are affecting the availability, distribution, quality and quantity of water and snowmelt, and the realization of
the human rights to water and sanitation and a clean and healthy environment.33 Water bodies such as lakes,
rivers, groundwater aquifers, glaciers and wetlands provide water for drinking, industry, ecosystems and food.
They also act as natural defences against pollution, biodiversity loss and climate change. However, their ability
to continue providing these benefits is being undermined. For example, we are losing wetlands, including
peatlands, at an alarming rate – the most rapid decline of all ecosystems.34 At the same time, understandingof wetlands’ outsized role in climate mitigation and carbon sequestration is growing.35

32 United Nations Conference on the Midterm Comprehensive Review of the Implementation of the Objectives of the International Decade for Action, “Water for
Sustainable Development”, 2018–2028, “Interactive dialogue 3: Water for climate, resilience and environment – source to sea, biodiversity, climate, resilience and disasterrisk reduction: concept paper prepared by the Secretariat” (A/CONF.240/2023/6) (31 Jan. 2023). Available at https://daccess-ods.un.org/access.nsf/Get?OpenAgent&DS=A/
CONF.240/2023/6&Lang=E.
33 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and UN-Water, United Nations World Water Development Report 2020: Water and Climate Change (Paris:
UNESCO, 2020). Available at https://www.unesco.org/en/wwap/wwdr/2020.
34 Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands, Global Wetland Outlook: Special Edition 2021 (Gland: SCW, 2021). Available at https://www.global-wetland-outlook.ramsar.
org/outlook.
35 Valach and others, “Productive wetlands restored for carbon sequestration quickly become net CO2 sinks with site-level factors driving uptake variability”, PLoS ONE 16(3): e0248398 (March 2021). Available at https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0248398.

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Climate change, disaster risk and freshwater ecosystems are inextricably linked. Global warming isincreasing the frequency and severity of floods, droughts and risks to humans, infrastructure and nature:36 one
estimate links at least seven (and perhaps as many as nine) out of ten disasters triggered by natural hazards
over the last decade to water.37 At the same time, water is fundamental to climate resilience. Sustainable
water management is key to weathering water extremes, and interconnected rivers and wetlands fromsource to sea can absorb excess water, retain it in dry periods, act as water filters, and recharge groundwateraquifers.

32
These impacts come on the heels of a daunting global water crisis driven by increasing global demandand decreasing supply. Approximately 2 billion people lack access to safe drinking water and 3.6 billion arewithout safe sanitation services. Today, 2.4 billion people live in water-stressed countries, 420 million people
still practice open defecation, and millions of women and girls spend hours every day fetching water.38 Suchchallenges can aggravate displacement and conflict.

33
Climate change is also altering the balance needed for healthy oceans. Communities living in close
connection with these ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to hazards connected to ocean change,39
with low-lying coastal zones, home to 680 million people, particularly at risk. Loss and damage in the mostsensitive ecosystems and vulnerable communities is often inevitable,40 with limits to adaptation and risk
management already reached in high-risk sectors, regions, terrestrial and freshwater species and ecosystems.

34
Since 2010, parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change have been formulating
strategies and adaptation programmes to identify and address their medium- to long-term adaptationneeds. More than 90 per cent of both national adaptation plans and nationally determined contributions havea prominent component referring to water, signalling an increasing acknowledgement and understanding of
the critical role of water in both mitigation and adaptation efforts. Addressing loss and damage from waterrelated climate events in vulnerable countries is being discussed by the transitional committee for financing
for loss and damage.

36 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, Working Group II contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report(IPCC, 2022). Available at https://report.ipcc.ch/ar6/wg2/IPCC_AR6_WGII_FullReport.pdf.
37 “Better data for water-related disasters” (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, n.d.). Available at https://sdgs.un.org/partnerships/better-data-water-relateddisasters (accessed on 8 Sept. 2023).
38 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, The United Nations World Water Development Report 2023: Partnerships and Cooperation for Water(Paris: UNESCO, 2023). Available at https://www.unesco.org/reports/wwdr/2023/en.
39 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Special Report on Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (IPCC, 2019). Available at https://www.ipcc.ch/srocc/.
40 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability.

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35
Several earlier Environment Assembly resolutions are related to ecosystem-based adaptation, naturebased solutions and water ecosystems, yet there is a clear gap when it comes to integrated approaches.
Recognizing the interconnectivity of water ecosystems as nature-based solutions to combat the threeplanetary environmental crises, along with the pressing need to link national processes relating to water
resources management, biodiversity and climate action plans, is essential to avoid duplication of efforts andto accelerate biodiversity, climate, pollution and sustainable development goals and commitments.

36
The United Nations 2023 Water Conference and recent actions by the General Assembly provide additional
guidance and impetus. They include establishing the position of Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on
Disaster Risk Reduction and Water; convening an intergovernmental review of water in 2026; scheduling areview of the International Decade for Action for 2028; and a resolution to develop a United Nations systemwide strategy for water.41

37
Member States may wish to request that UNEP expand its support for water-related resource management.
This would include accelerating support to enable Member States to access data, information, capacity andfinancing to connect, track and implement the environmental targets of Sustainable Development Goal 6
relating to freshwater ecosystem health, water quality and water resources management and the water-related
targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Member States may also wish to consider
reporting on these linkages and the progress made to the Environment Assembly at its seventh session andto enable greater input to the next United Nations Water Conference, to be held in 2026, to accelerate theimplementation of Goal 6.

41 General Assembly resolution 77/334 of 1 September 2023 on follow-up to the United Nations Conference on the Midterm Comprehensive Review of the Implementationof the Objectives of the International Decade for Action, “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018–2028.

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38
Member States may wish to ask UNEP to scale up protection, restoration and conservation work related towater ecosystems for their biodiversity, climate and pollution control benefits. Such efforts could include
increased support for countries to protect and restore specific ecosystems and areas in the context of
the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, such as the Freshwater Challenge launched at theUnited Nations 2023 Water Conference under the auspices of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem
Restoration.42 UNEP can also accelerate support to implement the water-related elements of national
adaptation plans and nationally determined contributions by spurring the implementation of integrated water
resources management in countries worldwide, as well as speeding up access to climate finance. UNEP
can help strengthen climate information and early warning systems in response to the Secretary-General’sappeal for “Early Warnings for All”.43 Support could also include expanding Member States’ technical capacity
to implement, monitor and track the progress of relevant conservation and restoration innovations andtechnologies, such as blue carbon offsetting, as well as mapping and identification of priority and threatened
ecosystems such as wetlands, including peatlands.

42 United Nations Environment Programme, “Largest river and wetland restoration initiative in history launched at UN Water Conference”, press release, 23 March 2023.
Available at https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/largest-river-and-wetland-restoration-initiative-history-launched-un.
43 United Nations, “Early warnings for all”. Available at https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/early-warnings-for-all (accessed on 8 Sept. 2023).

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C. Ensuring responsible mining and sustainable
minerals and metals use for the sustainability
transitions needed

39
Nearly 80 per cent of the world’s primary energy consumption comes from the fossil fuels that are propelling
dangerous climate change.44 Shifting the world’s energy supply to renewable energy (often known as the“clean energy transition”) is critical to reducing global emissions. However, clean energy technologies suchas electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar panels require relatively large amounts of specific minerals andmetals, such as lithium, nickel, manganese and copper. Consequently, the clean energy transition may leadto the opening of new mines in environmentally and socially sensitive areas, posing risks to biodiversity andpotentially causing pollution and more conflict.

40
A systems change towards resource efficiency and circularity is critical for ensuring that responsible miningof minerals and metals contributes to the needed planetary transition towards sustainability. More effective
multilateralism in the resource efficiency space must prompt rethinking of the way resources are used.
Using fewer resources, as well as recovering and reusing materials that would otherwise have been lost afteruse, must become the norm. This requires new approaches to transform prevailing economic models – forexample, from economies based primarily on goods provisioning to those based on servicing provisioning
options with lower material footprints.

44 REN21, Renewables 2023 Global Status Report Collection (REN21, 2023). Available at https://www.ren21.net/gsr-2023/.

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41
Long-term strategies for sourcing minerals and metals are required to avert conflict, loss of biodiversity
and ecosystem services and pollution. Securing responsible mining of critical energy transition minerals,45
especially in least developed countries and land-locked developing countries, where most of these minerals
are located, must be part of the solution. This is key to foster benefit-sharing, resilience, trust and economic
diversification, and to create sustainable green jobs. At the same time, the extractives sector must put in place
the necessary economic and social safeguards for managing environmental and health risks, addressing
gender and social justice implications and protecting the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable
environment.

42
UNEP has advocated for well-managed and responsible extraction of critical energy transition minerals that
supports reaching net zero by 2050 without endangering other environmental goals. The UNEP-publishedInternational Resource Panel report on mineral resource governance issued in 2020 explored practical actions
to improve the international mining governance architecture.46

43
On the multilateral front, in order to coordinate and increase impact across the United Nations systemon this issue, in 2020 the Secretary-General launched the Working Group on Transforming the Extractive
Industries for Sustainable Development, co-chaired by UNEP, the United Nations Development Programme
and the United Nations regional economic commissions.47 The Environment Assembly has also alreadytaken preliminary action on mineral and metal resources through two resolutions: resolution 4/19 on mineral
resource governance, in which the Executive Director of UNEP was requested, among other things, to collectinformation on sustainable practices, identify knowledge gaps, and survey existing assessments of different
governance initiatives and approaches for sustainable management of metal and mineral resources, andresolution 5/12 on environmental aspects of minerals and metals management, in which the Executive
Director was requested to organize regional intergovernmental meetings and a global event to develop
nonprescriptive proposals to enhance the environmental sustainability of minerals and metals.

44
Member States may wish to build on these previous resolutions and request that UNEP provide guidance
to strengthen and harmonize policy frameworks for responsible mining. Such harmonization would
bring together the many existing standards and certifications that respond to different metrics to advanceresponsible mining and circularity throughout the life cycle of minerals and metals. Beyond extraction, it is
crucial to identify how reuse, recovery and recycling, as well as service provisioning, can reduce material
footprints and increase economic opportunities.

45 The present report addresses the issue of “critical minerals” through the lens and scope of the SecretaryGeneral’s Working Group on Transforming the Extractive
Industries for Sustainable Development, which is mentioned in the text and in which UNEP is involved.
46 International Resource Panel, Mineral Resource Governance in the Twenty-First Century: Gearing Extractive Industries towards Sustainable Development (Nairobi, 2020).
Available at https://www.resourcepanel.org/reports/mineral-resource-governance-21st-century.
47 “The Working Group on Transforming the Extractive Industries for Sustainable Development” (UNEP, 21 Sept. 2022). Available at https://www.unep.org/events/workinggroup/transforming-extractive-industries-sustainable-development.

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45
Member States may also consider requesting that UNEP, working with United Nations partners and otherstakeholders, accelerate progress on the Secretary-General’s Working Group on Transforming the Extractive
Industries for Sustainable Development. Its work could include technical guidance and capacity support todeveloping countries with critical energy transition minerals.

D. Advancing cooperation around nutrients,
especially phosphorus

Photo credit UNEP

24

46
Nutrients are critical for food production, but their use must be managed sustainably. Nutrients such as
nitrogen and phosphorus are critical to global food security, but their overuse is a major source of waterpollution and eutrophication. Sustainable nitrogen management was the focus of resolutions 4/14 and 5/2,
adopted at the fourth and fifth sessions of the Environment Assembly. As a result, UNEP has establisheda working group on nitrogen management, created an index for coastal eutrophication and developed aninternational nitrogen assessment.

47
However, phosphorus has been something of a blind spot in international cooperation around nutrients. An
adequate supply of phosphorus, which has no substitute, is essential for the yields of food plants. Phosphorus
management challenges and opportunities vary widely among countries. Yet millions of metric tons offertilizer are washed from the land into lakes and seas every year, triggering toxic algal blooms and damaging
fish stocks, livelihoods and tourism. The implementation of target 7 of the Kunming-Montreal Global
Biodiversity Framework calls for the loss of excess nutrients to the environment to be reduced by at least half,
including through more efficient nutrient cycling and use.

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48
The Environment Assembly could add value through a commitment to action on target 7 of the KunmingMontreal Global Biodiversity Framework and to improving the resilience of ecosystems, protecting
biodiversity where losses are highest, and benefiting from the momentum around nitrogen/nutrients:
a Member States may wish to direct UNEP to provide options for optimizing efficient nutrient
management practices, with a focus on phosphorus, and to explore innovative approaches tosustainable use and nutrient recovery to enhance the long-term supply of this critical nutrient.
b Member States may wish to commit themselves to reducing the global loss of phosphorus,
increasing nutrient recycling, and promoting sustainable management practices in order to avoid
losses and ensure long-term availability.

E. Climate-altering technologies and measures

49
Greenhouse gas concentrations in the Earth’s atmosphere are at the highest levels in human history. In
addition to urgently needed deep cuts in emissions of these gases, projections of the long-term CO2-emissions
trajectory indicate that climate stabilization will require carbon dioxide removal in order to meet a 1.5oC target.
Nature already provides options for removing carbon from the atmosphere, such as land restoration and theconservation of natural ecosystems, particularly tropical forests and wetlands.

50
As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recognizes, several carbon dioxide removal technologies
exist or are emerging, while others are being specifically designed to alter the climate in order to cool theplanet. Some climate-altering technologies under discussion to potentially cool the Earth (but that do notaddress the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions) are designed to reduce incoming solar radiation. The
most discussed, and possibly the most mature, of these technologies is stratospheric aerosol injection. Thesemethods could, however, have serious unintended consequences at the local and regional levels.

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51
A considerable amount of research is being conducted on climate-altering technologies and measuresin several countries, and some technologies are already in development, although not at scale. The
advancement of these technologies is having a polarizing effect on the empirical evidence and scienceneeded to make informed decisions in this space. How climate-altering technologies and measures may
factor into net-zero commitments, and the cost of carbon and transfers of such measures under the Paris
Agreement, are yet to be determined, with many experts concerned about potential overreliance on removal
technologies. Additional scientific and technological information is required in order to make informed
decisions.

52
The Convention on Biological Diversity first addressed the issue of geoengineering in 2008, focusing on thespecific issue of ocean fertilization.48 Following this, regulations governing ocean fertilization experiments
were adopted under the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other
Matter and its Protocol (also known as the London Convention), which is administered by the International
Maritime Organization.49 In 2009, the secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity published ascientific synthesis report on the impacts of ocean fertilization on marine biodiversity.50 In 2010, the tenth
Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity addressed solar radiation modification
more broadly. Again, after significant negotiations, first in the Convention’s scientific body and subsequently
at the tenth Conference of the Parties, it was agreed that, in the absence of science-based, global, transparent
and effective control and regulatory mechanisms for geoengineering, no climate-related geoengineering
activities that may affect biodiversity should take place until there was an adequate scientific basis onwhich to justify such activities.51 The Conference of the Parties mandated the preparation of two reports:
one on the potential impacts of geoengineering on biodiversity and the other on the regulatory framework. In
2013, the Contracting Parties to the London Convention amended the London Protocol in order to regulatemarine geoengineering, which the Protocol defines as a “deliberate intervention in the marine environment
to manipulate natural processes, including to counteract anthropogenic climate change”. The Protocol also
expresses concern about the potential impacts of ocean fertilization and other geoengineering activities on
the marine environment.52 Finally, in 2019 the Thirty-first Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on
Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer requested that the 2022 report of the Scientific Assessment Panelinclude an assessment of information and research related to solar radiation management and its potential
effect on the stratospheric ozone layer.53,54

48 Convention on Biological Diversity, document UNEP/CBD/COP/DEC/IX/16 (30 May 2008), decision IX/16, on biodiversity and climate change. Available at https://www.
cbd.int/doc/decisions/cop-09/cop-09-dec-16-en.pdf.
49 Thirtieth Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the London Convention and Third Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the London Protocol, document LC 30/16, annex
6, resolution LC-LP.1 (2008) on the regulation of ocean fertilization. Available at https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/
LCLPDocuments/LC-LP.1%20(2008).pdf.
50 Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Scientific Synthesis of the Impacts of Ocean Fertilization on Marine Biodiversity (Montreal, 2009). Available athttps://www.cbd.int/doc/publications/cbd-ts-45-en.pdf.
51 Convention on Biological Diversity, document UNEP/CBD/COP/DEC/X/33 (29 Oct. 2010), decision X/33, on biodiversity and climate change. Available at https://www.
cbd.int/doc/decisions/cop-10/cop-10-dec-33-en.pdf.
52 Eighth Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the 1996 Protocol to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter 1972,
resolution LP.4 (8), on the Amendment to the London Protocol to Regulate the Placement of Matter for Ocean Fertilization and Other Marine Geoengineering Activities (18Oct. 2013). Available at https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/LCLPDocuments/LP.4(8).pdf.
53 Thirty-First Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, document UNEP/OzL.Pro.31/9/Add.1 (8 Nov. 2019), decision
XXXI/1, on terms of reference for the study on the 2021–2023 replenishment of the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol. Available at https://ozone.unep.org/system/files/documents/MOP-31-9-Add-1E.pdf.
54 World Meteorological Organization, Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion: 2022, GAW Report No. 278 (Geneva: WMO, 2022). Available at https://ozone.unep.org/
system/files/documents/Scientific-Assessment-of-Ozone-Depletion-2022.pdf.

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53
As the above overview indicates, Member States have recognized that in assessing the potential impacts ofclimate-altering technologies and measures, including solar radiation modification, a broad environmental
lens must be applied, which includes marine, biodiversity, climate and stratospheric sciences. Impacts onhumans and the climate are likely, whether on biodiversity, water regimes, oceans or the ozone layer (and thus
the stratosphere). UNEP therefore concludes, on the basis both of existing science and of the precedents
set by the various multilateral environmental agreements mentioned above, that assessments of climatealtering technologies and measures, including solar radiation modification, must draw on multiple scientificdisciplines, rather than one scientific discipline or field alone.

54
Understanding of and familiarity with climate-altering technologies and measures vary widely among
Member States. To facilitate broader dialogue, in 2022 UNEP convened a multidisciplinary expert panel toconduct a rapid review of the state of scientific research on solar radiation modification. UNEP publishedits findings on 27 February 2023 in One Atmosphere: An Independent Expert Briefing on Solar Radiation
Modification Research and Deployment.55 The report was presented and discussed with Member States in
Nairobi, Geneva and New York. The publication recommended a comprehensive review, a transparent andinclusive process, and a broad dialogue on the science as well as on governance.

55
When previously considering new environmental challenges, Member States have successfully establishedad hoc expert groups to deepen study, broaden familiarity and find a path forward. As awareness of andfamiliarity with climate-altering technologies and measures are still emerging in most Member States, apathway for climate-altering technologies and measures, including solar radiation modification, that includes
the establishment of ad hoc expert groups would improve exchange, dialogue and mutual understanding of
the state of the science – its risks as well as environmental impacts.

55 United Nations Environment Programme, One Atmosphere: An Independent Expert Review on Solar Radiation Modification Research and Deployment (Nairobi, 2023).
Available at https://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/41903.

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56
Member States may wish to deploy a Member-State-led ad hoc expert group and request UNEP to provide
technical and secretariat support for its establishment. This could include ensuring that any supporting
documentation would draw on a range of scientific disciplines to underpin and inform the expert dialogues.
Without prejudice to a potential ad hoc expert group process and the desired pathway chosen by Member
States, such a process could enable informed and inclusive deliberations that consider the environmental,
health and social impacts and risks of such technologies, while weighing them against their potential tosupport a reduction at scale of atmospheric carbon and global warming.

Aligning the financial system for sustainability

Photo credit UNEP

F.

57
How more than $400 trillion in global financial assets56 is allocated over the next decade will play a criticalrole in determining the alignment of the economy with the goals of the Paris Agreement, the Sustainable
Development Goals and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. UNEP is helping to alignprivate finance with the goals and targets of these international frameworks, including catalysing private
finance for climate mitigation, adaptation, nature-based solutions, and tackling chemicals and plastics
pollution.57

56 United Nations Environment Programme, GEO for Business – Changing Finance to Catalyze Transformation: How financial institutions can accelerate the transition to an
environmentally sustainable economy (Nairobi: UNEP, 2021). Available at https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/37567/GFB6.pdf.
57 For more information: UNEP Finance Initiative, Global Biodiversity Framework and the Finance Sector, https://www.unepfi.org/nature/gbf-finance-sector/; Pollution andCircular Economy - Working with Financial Institutions to Accelerate the Transition to Pollution-Free and Circular Economies, https://www.unepfi.org/pollution-and-circulareconomy/pollution-and-circular-economy/.

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58
UNEP convenes a network of more than 500 financial institutions with assets exceeding $100 trillion toaccelerate financing for the transition to a sustainable global economy. UNEP develops and implements
frameworks to mainstream sustainability considerations into financial practice, with 50 per cent of the global
banking industry and 30 per cent of the insurance industry engaged.58 This includes scaling up environmental
and social risk disclosures and strengthening the governance, policies and financial products needed todeliver positive impacts across the economy. These industry-wide programmes are complemented bytargeted initiatives, including three net-zero alliances convened under the aegis of the United Nations, andfinanciers’ groups working on tackling plastic pollution, the transition towards a circular economy, and theimplementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

59
Several relevant previous Environment Assembly resolutions59 have addressed the financial sector. However,further knowledge, technical assistance and policy measures to address multiple environmental challenges
through science-based sectoral transition pathways are needed, particularly in an era when digital technology
is opening up new opportunities for transparency and broader social inclusion.

60
Member States may wish to strengthen national policy and regulatory measures in economic and financial
systems to mainstream nature in private-sector decision-making and align public and private finance withnational plans and strategies to implement the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and 1.5°C
pathways.

58 For more information: UNEP Finance Initiative, Principles for Responsible Banking, https://www.unepfi.org/banking/bankingprinciples/; Principles for Sustainable
Insurance, https://www.unepfi.org/insurance/insurance/the-principles/.
59 Relevant resolutions adopted by the Environment Assembly at its fifth session, for instance, include resolution 5/5 on nature-based solutions for supporting
sustainable development; resolution 5/9 on sustainable and resilient infrastructure; resolution 5/10 on the environmental dimension of a sustainable, resilient and inclusive
postCOVID-19 recovery; resolution 5/11 on enhancing circular economy as a contribution to achieving sustainable consumption and production; and resolution 5/14 entitled“End plastic pollution: towards an international legally binding instrument”.

Photo credit UNEP

V. Responding to
the call: Elevating theenvironment in themultilateral system

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61
As the Summit of the Future to be held in 2024 approaches, it is clear that the United Nations system must
transform itself into a United Nations 2.0 via the “quintet of change”.60 Among other things, UNEP willcontinue to strive to be stronger, more agile and responsive, capable of offering more system-wide solutions
for the modern world, with greater capacity for data and analysis, innovation and digital transformations,strategic foresight, behavioural science and results.

62
UNEP requires sufficient resources to fulfil its full potential. Before the Stockholm Conference of 1972,
a $100 million Environment Fund – equivalent to nearly $730 million in today’s money – was proposed tosupport effective international cooperation on global environmental challenges.61 Yet, more than 50 years
on, the Fund falls short of even the original $100 million target. It is important to note that Member States’
contributions to UNEP are considered voluntary, unlike contributions to the multilateral environmental
agreements that UNEP has the privilege of hosting. The voluntary nature of contributions to the Fund means
they consistently fall short of the budgets agreed on by the Environment Assembly at its successive sessions.
In 2020 UNEP surveyed Member States about its funding,62 seeking guidance on, among other things, how
to increase funding for the Environment Fund. It also identified interest in exploring potential approaches toMember States that do not contribute to the Fund.

63
The environment – as the foundation for economic and social development – must be elevated within
the global agenda. This requires UNEP to be strengthened, following through on the commitments madein paragraph 88 of the outcome document of Rio+20, entitled “The future we want”,63 and the UNEP@50
political declaration,64 with mandates and resources to match those expectations. It means realizing thedesire to strengthen the UNEP headquarters in Nairobi by considering locating important new environmental
entities there, thus enabling more integrated secretariat services across the multilateral environmental
landscape. It means bolstering the role of UNEP as a consolidator of information into coherent, current andactionable assessments of planetary health that can inform solutions and action on the ground. It means
ensuring that action on the environment is better integrated across the entire multilateral system, particularly
with the financial, social and economic systems. Lastly, it means being able to advocate for and advanceenvironmental rights, equity and inclusion across the multilateral system.

60 “UN 2.0 – Quintet of Change”. Available at https://un-two-zero.network/ (accessed on 8 Sept. 2023).
61 “The first Earth Day was a shot heard around the world”, The Conversation. Available at https://theconversation.com/the-first-earth-day-was-a-shot-heard-around-theworld-136210 (accessed on 8 Sept. 2023).
62 A report on the results is set out in document UNEP/ASC.7/2/Add.4 (16 Oct. 2020), available at https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/34041/
Agenda%20Item%204.Add.4_Report%20on%20Results%20of%20Survey%20on%20UNEP%20Funding%20final.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.
63 General Assembly resolution 66/288, annex.
64 UNEP/EA.SS.1/4.

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64
Member States and the United Nations system recognize UNEP as the custodian of the environmental
pillar of sustainable development. In the face of escalating climate, nature and pollution challenges, UNEP is
playing an increasingly critical role in catalysing, facilitating and supporting the coherent implementation by
Member States and other partners of the environmental dimension of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable
Development Goals.

65
This increasing recognition has led to an unprecedented rise in demand for UNEP support at the country
level. Member States are increasing their demand for UNEP support, both directly and through United
Nations country teams and United Nations resident coordinators. Common country assessments need moreenvironmental data and analytics to better inform the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation
Frameworks that guide the collective engagement of the United Nations system. UNEP is working to enhance
engagement and support in regional consultative processes and opportunity- and issue-based coalitions
through strategic presence. Yet significant scope remains to enhance engagement with resident coordinatorsand country teams and support the development and implementation of common country assessments andSustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks.

66
The limited country presence of UNEP results in equally limited visibility of the environmental dimension of
the Sustainable Development Goals among the resident coordinator network and the country teams. Likeother country team members, UNEP is asked to actively engage in all stages of the Sustainable Development
Cooperation Framework process, including through United Nations results groups and joint workplans
to support Governments’ efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda.
Increasing engagement by augmenting the UNEP staffing cadre as part of country teams would enable closer
collaboration and engagement and improve responsiveness to countries’ needs. This enhanced collaboration
would ensure that the environment has a seat at the table whenever country assessments and analyses arecarried out, as well as during the programming of resources in the Sustainable Development Cooperation
Frameworks.

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67
Member States may wish to discuss opportunities to increase UNEP financial and human resources tomeet the increasing demand for environmental support at the country level to address the Sustainable
Development Goals. Opportunities could include discussions on UNEP core resources, such as the regularbudget allocation and the Environment Fund, as well as other, more innovative measures such as multi-donor
trust funds.

68
Member States may wish to also consider the results of the 2020 funding survey and discuss options forachieving universal contributions to the Environment Fund and full share in accordance with the Voluntary
Indicative Scale of Contributions.

Photo credit UNEP

VI. Conclusion

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69
By embracing effective and sustainable multilateral action, the Environment Assembly at its sixth session
can develop a consolidated multilateral response to the interwoven economic, social and environmental
crises facing the planet. But this multilateral action will only be effective and sustainable if it is also inclusive:
the Assembly must bring together voices from across the spectrum of science, policy and business, as well as
across regions, generations, languages, faiths and cultures. As the planet’s only universal-membership forum
for the environment, the Assembly can provide a platform for courageous decisions and new ideas to cometo the fore. Together, let us seize the many opportunities presented by the sixth session of the Environment
Assembly and come away with a bold and decisive plan for collective environmental action.

Sixth session of the United Nations
Environment Assembly (UNEA-6)

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