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Fifth Environment Assembly of UN
Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment
- Linked together: Various environmental crises are linked with achieving of sustainable goals. Addressing those crises will help reach sustainable goals such as poverty-alleviation, food and water security and good health. Climate change, biodiversity loss and land degradation should be tackled together.
- New report: A new report released by United Nations ahead of its fifth Environment Assembly (February 22-23) 2021 on the theme ‘Strengthening Actions for Nature to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals’ makes this point. It calls for strengthened action to protect and restore nature and nature-based solutions to achieve the sustainable development goals in its three social, economic and environmental dimensions.
- Making peace: The new 168-page report called ‘Making Peace with Nature’ presents a strong case for innovation and investment to tackle climate, biodiversity and pollution —the three environmental emergencies within the framework of sustainable development goals. “It is time to re-set and reevaluate our relationship with nature,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres in his address while launching the report.
- Growing triple crisis: The three self-inflicted planetary crises are closely interconnected and put the well-being of current and future generations at unacceptable risk, warned the report.
- Inequity in economic growth has left 1.3 billion people poor. At the same time, extraction of natural resources has multiplied three times creating a planetary emergency.
- More than one million of the estimated 8 million plant and animal species are increasingly at risk of extinction.
- Every year, nine million people die prematurely due to pollution.
- Even though the causes and mechanisms of climate change, biodiversity loss and land degradation are complex, these should be considered together, the report proposed. They are reinforcing each other and driving further to the environment and our health. That is the central message of the UNEP synthesis report.
- . Report's thrust: The report delves into the ‘triple crisis’ by drawing on global assessments, including those from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. It also refers to UNEP’s Global Environment Outlook report, the UNEP International Resource Panel and new findings on the emergence of zoonotic diseases such as the novel coronavirus diseases (COVID-19). Three sustainable development goals — poverty alleviation, food and water security and good health for all — will also be reached by addressing environmental crisis, said the report.
- Advocacy: It advocates for advancements in science and bold policymaking for a carbon neutral world by 2050, while bending the curve on biodiversity loss and curbing pollution and waste. By innovating and investing in those activities that that protect both people and nature, it will be possible to reap success in the form of restored ecosystems and healthier lives, as well as a stable climate.
- For a sustainable future: Natural capital can be included by the governments to measure the economic performance. Nations are advised to put a price on carbon and shift trillions of dollars in subsidies from fossil fuels, non-sustainable agriculture and transportation towards low-carbon and nature-friendly solutions. There is a need for setting ambitious international targets for biodiversity, such as expanded and improved protected area networks. New variants of coronavirus has made the fight against COVID-19 challenging and the pandemic may soon turn endemic in many countries.
- Summary: In context of this, the report cautions how ecosystem degradation heightens the risk of pathogens making the jump from animals to human. It has strongly advocated for importance of a ‘one health’ approach that considers human, animal and planetary health together. A sustainable economy driven by renewable energy and nature-based solutions will create new jobs, cleaner infrastructure and a resilient future, said the report. It is the bedrock of hope in the post-COVID-19 world.
- Knowledge centre:
- UNEP - The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system, and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. It is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya.
- UNEA - The United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) is the world’s highest-level decision-making body on the environment. UNEA enjoys the universal membership of all 193 UN Member States and the full involvement of major groups and stakeholders. It gathers ministers of environment in Nairobi, Kenya every 2 years. Through UNEA, the hope is humans can work together to build a healthier environment to support humanity for generations to come.
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