An inside look at the moments that will help define UNEA-6

When delegates gather in Nairobi, Kenya later this month for the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6), they will face a packed schedule.

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.

But six key dialogues are expected to take centre stage and go a long way toward determining UNEA’s long-term success. These sessions are designed to supercharge the global effort to tackle the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste.

Two of those sessions will take place on 28 February, a day devoted to global accords known as Multilateral Environmental Agreements.

“No single country can tackle the triple planetary crisis on its own,” said Radhika Ochalik, Director of Governance Affairs Office at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). “These dialogues are designed to spur the global momentum we need to build a more sustainable planet.”

Here is a closer look at the six sessions.

Strengthening the Science-Policy Interface

28 February at 10:00 EAT

To tackle the triple planetary crisis, the world needs up-to-date science on the state of the environment. But numbers alone are not enough. Scientific findings must be accessible to policymakers if they are to spark change. This session will explore how UNEP and a series of international accords, known as Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), can re-enforce the links between science and policy making.

Strengthening cooperation between UNEA, UNEP and the MEAs

28 February, 15:00 EAT

MEAs are the backbone of the global environmental movement. Many date back decades and have been instrumental in everything from limiting chemical pollution to protecting species.

This session will examine how UNEA, UNEP and the MEAs can better work together. That is considered key to countering the triple planetary crisis and accelerating progress on the Sustainable Development Goals.

Superhighway or slow-motion: Are science, data and digitalization really speeding our transition to a sustainable future?

29 February, 15:00 EAT

Big data and technology have long been hailed as gamechangers in the effort to protect and repair the planet. But despite a surge in their uptake, climate change, nature loss and pollution continue to worsen. This session will look at how science and technology can be better leveraged in the campaign against the triple planetary crisis.

Multistakeholder dialogue: Partnering for the Environment

29 February, 16:30 EAT

Government officials, business leaders and members of civil society will explore how they can work more closely together on a range of environmental issues. In particular, they will discuss environmental multilateralism and how technology can support the campaign against the triple planetary crisis.

Show me the money: Can the global financial system really tackle climate change, nature loss and pollution?

1 March, 10:00 EAT

This session will explore how the financial sector—and its US$480 trillion in assets—can help counter the triple planetary crisis and revive the effort to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The dialogue will look specifically at how countries and companies can better align financial flows with three landmark environmental accords: the Paris Agreement on climate change, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Global Framework on Chemicals.

Alive and kicking: Environmental multilateralism is a beacon of hope but is it delivering fast enough?

1 March, 11:30 EAT

Despite deep geopolitical divisions, countries around the world continue to collaborate on the planet’s most-pressing environmental problems. Nations have inked several major agreements in the last year-plus, including those to preserve biodiversity and counter chemical pollution. But the triple planetary crisis worsens by the day. This session will examine how countries can take their collaboration to the next level.

 

The sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) will take place from 26 February to 1 March 2024 at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. As the world’s highest decision-making body on the environment, UNEA aims to help restore harmony between humanity and nature, improving the lives of the world’s most vulnerable people. UNEA-6 will focus on how multilateralism can help tackle the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste.