UN Environment Assembly calls for multilateral solutions to the triple planetary crisis

The United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) kicked off its sixth session (UNEA-6) in Nairobi, Kenya on Monday. At the meeting that runs through March 1, member states will discuss plausible solutions towards the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.

How grave is the triple planetary crisis?

As a 2014 study suggests, species are dying off as much as 1,000 times more frequently than the time before the arrival of humans 60 million years ago. Up to one million species are now on the verge of extinction, according to a 2019 UN report. Humans are driving this biodiversity loss through activities that encroach on the habitats of wildlife, pollute nature and exacerbate global warming.

Pollution, whether through air, soil or water, is jeopardizing health of all lives, including humans. By 2025, the world's cities will produce 2.2 billion tonnes of waste every year, more than three times the amount produced in 2009. Plastics account for at least 85 percent of total marine waste, and their remnants are found in digestive systems of seabirds, turtles and many water species. Micro-plastic has also been detected in human blood.

According to Europe's climate monitor this February, Earth has endured 12 months of temperatures 1.5 degrees Celsius hotter than the pre-industrial era for the first time on record. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) also estimates that global warming is likely to reach 1.5 degrees Celsius between 2030 and 2052. 

As climate change intensifies, humans face the rising sea levels, more frequent droughts, floods and wildfire. The world's migratory species are also under greater threat because their migration routes and timings are altered.

What's on the negotiating table?

In the last round of talks in 2022, also in Nairobi, governments adopted 14 resolutions, including to create a legally binding instrument to end worldwide plastic pollution. 

The UNEA-6 this year is expected to debate 20 resolutions and 2 decisions, covering topics such as solar radiation modification, mining, desertification, the circularity of the sugar cane agroindustry, highly dangerous pesticides, increasing ecosystem and community resilience to drought, and regional air quality cooperation.

The resolutions, approved by consensus, aim to advance global environmental governance and accelerate action to address environmental challenges. The outcomes will play a crucial role in shaping international environmental policies and strategies in the years to come.

(Cover image via CFP)