Presidents´ Final Remarks to Plenary
Key recommendations for accelerating action
towards a healthy planet for the prosperity of all
In our capacity as Presidents, the following key recommendations emerged from Member States andStakeholders, through the Plenary and Leadership Dialogues at the Stockholm+50 InternationalMeeting.
The recommendations reflect the resolve of the participants to urgently accelerate the implementationof commitments for a healthy planet for the prosperity of all, in the context of the decade of action anddelivery for sustainable development - including a sustainable recovery from the coronavirus (COVID19) pandemic – and taking into account the outcomes from the fifth session of the United Nations
Environment Assembly and from the special session of the United Nations Environment Assembly tocommemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), held 3 - 4 March 2022 in Nairobi, Kenya.
Since the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in 1972, the global community has
adopted a wealth of Multilateral Environmental Agreements as well as other relevant commitments,
including the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda. Fulfilment of the objectives and commitments of all theseagreements would take us a long way towards securing a healthy planet for all.
Stockholm+50 has emphasized the global interconnectedness of the environment and the need tocollectively address the triple crisis of our common environment – climate change, biodiversity loss andpollution – for present and future generations. Stockholm+50 has also underlined the urgent need forbold and deliberate actions as well as clear political will to accelerate action on these commitments,
strengthen the multilateral system, increase ambition and solidarity, and set us on a credible path
towards a healthy planet for all – leaving no one behind.
The discussions during Stockholm+50, reaffirmed the importance of local realities and national
implementation, and the need for a combination of incentives and policies, finance and capacity
support to achieve sustainable development. We have heard the following recommendations foractions to accelerate implementation.
1. Place human well-being at the centre of a healthy planet and prosperity for all, throughrecognizing that a healthy planet is a prerequisite for peaceful, cohesive and prosperous
societies; restoring our relationship with nature by integrating ethical values; and adopting afundamental change in attitudes, habits, and behaviours, to support our common prosperity.
2. Recognize and implement the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment,
through fulfilling the vision articulated in principle 1 of the 1972 Stockholm Declaration.
3. Adopt system wide change in the way our current economic system works to contribute to ahealthy planet, through defining and adopting new measures of progress and human wellbeing, supported by economic and fiscal policies that account for the value of theenvironment; investing in infrastructure, developing effective policy and encouraging a global
dialogue to promote sustainable consumption and production; and promoting phase out offossil fuels while providing targeted support to the poorest and most vulnerable in line withnational circumstances and recognizing the need for financial and technical support towards ajust transition.
4. Strengthen national implementation of existing commitments for a healthy planet, throughenhancing environmental national legislation, budget, planning processes and institutionalframeworks; promoting evidence-based policymaking, including by enhanced collaborationbetween academic disciplines and thematic scientific panels, drawing on insights andexpertise from indigenous and traditional knowledge; and scaling-up capacity support anddevelopment, access to and financing for environmentally sound technologies.
5. Align public and private financial flows with environmental, climate and sustainable
development commitments, through developing and implementing well-designed policies torepurpose environmentally harmful subsidies; redirecting, mobilizing and scaling up theavailability of public and private financial flows to support economic diversification; andadopting recovery and stimulus measures, blended sources of capital, and de-risking
instruments that augment financial flows.
6. Accelerate system-wide transformations of high impact sectors, such as food, energy, water,buildings and construction, manufacturing, and mobility, through adopting andimplementing policies to promote circularity, resource efficiency, regenerative production
approaches and nature-based solutions in value chains, and adopting frameworks thatenhance and reinforce transparency and accountability by business; promoting just transitions
through support for impacted youth, labour, and local communities by strengthening
capacities and skills for the creation of green jobs and for micro, small and medium
enterprises; and transforming food systems by promoting regenerative farming and fisheries
approaches that provide healthy diets and minimize food waste, including investments in theocean economy.
7. Rebuild relationships of trust for strengthened cooperation and solidarity, throughrecognizing the importance of developed country leadership in promoting sustainability
transitions; supporting capacity building and technology transfer for national efforts bydeveloping countries to implement internationally agreed environmental agreements, takinginto account national circumstances, including honouring the commitment to mobilize $100
billion every year for climate finance for developing countries; and enabling all relevant
stakeholders including youth, women, rural communities, indigenous peoples, interfaithgroups and local communities to participate meaningfully in policy formulation andimplementation at both national and international level.
8. Reinforce and reinvigorate the multilateral system, through ensuring an effective rules-based
multilateral system that supports countries in delivering on their national and global
commitments, to ensure a fair and effective multilateralism; strengthening environmental ruleof law, including by promoting convergence and synergies within the UN system and between
Multilateral Environmental Agreements; strengthening the United Nations Environment
Programme, in line with the UNEP@50 Political Declaration.
9. Recognize intergenerational responsibility as a cornerstone of sound policy-making, throughengaging with the Stockholm+50 Global Youth Task Force Policy Paper; highlighting theimportant need of building the capacity of young people to engage with financial institutions;recognizing the critical role of young people in environmental action, and highlight that
progress has been made on fostering meaningful youth engagement, and calling upon themultilateral environmental funds to include youth-inclusive parameters in funding schemes,
and further take steps to ensure ease of access of funds for environmental action for youthled organizations.
10. Take forward the Stockholm+50 outcomes, through reinforcing and reenergizing the ongoinginternational processes, including a global framework for biodiversity, an implementing
agreement for the protection of marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction, and thedevelopment of a new plastics convention; and engaging with the relevant conferences, suchas the 2022 UN Ocean Conference, High Level Political Forum, the 27th Conference of theParties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the Summit of the Future.