Halfway through the Sixth Session of the United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA-6), the mood was characterized by the age-old adage ‘keep calm and carry on’ as delegates remained stuck in plenary past midnight pleading for more time.
Want to dig deeper into today's talks? Read the full Earth Negotiations Bulletin daily report.
The day was countered by more positivity as UNEA hosted the first ever Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) Day, which featured an opening plenary and two high-level dialogues, accompanied by numerous side-events, all dedicated to exploring options for increased convergence of actions between UNEA and MEAs and raising MEAs' visibility.
During the opening session, a number of high-level MEA representatives provided remarks, including:
- Huang Runqiu, Minister of Ecology and Environment, China, and President of the 15th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, called for strengthening links between MEAs and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and broadening stakeholder engagement within MEAs.
- Cheikh Ndiaye Sylla, Senegal, COP 12 President of the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, expressed hope that eligibility and access criteria for funding would not become impediments as a result of activities to promote MEA synergies.
- Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary, UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), recalled COPs for the three Rio Conventions will meet at the end of 2024 and suggested we must ensure that the work of each MEA amplifies others.
- Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary, Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions, said multilateralism needs the engagement of all stakeholders.
- Donald Cooper, Director, Transparency Division, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said the Covid-19 pandemic taught us that the world has the capacity to evolve and change when there is social, economic, and political will, and added he desires for it to change.
- Susan Gardner, Director, Ecosystems Division, UNEP, called attention to the regional seas agreements, which she noted have been longstanding and powerful tools of cooperation.
Contact groups dragged on with informal informals, bilateral discussions, and late night sessions. Well past midnight, Co-Chairs reported back to the Committee of the Whole (CoW) plenary for the second time asking for more time. CoW Chair Norbert Kurilla (Slovakia) suggested "informal informals" continue on Thursday.
Eight resolutions were adopted by the CoW. The draft report of the CoW was presented by Rapporteur Chair Silvio Albuquerque and the Committee adopted the draft report on condition that outstanding items will be added. Chair Kurilla thanked all for their commitment and closed the CoW at 12:45 am.
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All ENB photos are free to use with attribution. For UNEA-6 and OECPR-6 please use: Photo by IISD/ENB - Mike Muzurakis
Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) Day
Inger Andersen, Executive Director, UNEP, with UNEA-6 President Leila Benali, Morocco
CBD COP 15 President Huang Runqiu, Minister of Ecology and Environment, China, and Inger Andersen, Executive Director, UNEP
Cheikh Ndiaye Sylla, Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer COP 12 President
Susan Gardner, Director, Ecosystems Division, UNEP
Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary, Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions
Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary, UN Convention to Combat Desertification
CBD COP 15 President Huang Runqiu, Minister of Ecology and Environment, China
From L-R: CBD COP 15 President Huang Runqiu, Minister of Ecology and Environment, China; Inger Andersen, Executive Director, UNEP; and UNEA-6 President Leila Benali, Morocco
Susan Gardner, Director, Ecosystems Division, UNEP
Donald Cooper, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat
Alex Threlfall, Reuters
Alex Threlfall, Reuters, and Andreas Bjelland Eriksen, Minister of Climate and Environment, Norway
Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary, UN Convention to Combat Desertification
From L-R: Alex Threlfall, Reuters; Anita Breyer, ICCM5 former President; Tatiana Molcean, Executive Secretary, UNECE; Musonda Mumba, Secretary General, Ramsar Convention on Wetlands; Maya Berci, Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants COP 12 President; and David O. Obura, Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Chair
From L-R: Sanda Ojiambo, CEO and Assistant Secretary-General, UN Global Compact; David Cooper, Acting Executive Secretary, CBD; and Haoliang Xu, Associate Administrator, UNDP
Osvaldo Álvarez-Pérez, Minamata Convention COP 6 President, and Camila Isabel Zepeda Lizama, Bern III Conference Co-Chair, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mexico
From L-R: Sanda Ojiambo, CEO and Assistant Secretary-General, UN Global Compact; David Cooper, Acting Executive Secretary, CBD; Haoliang Xu, Associate Administrator, UNDP; Aziz Abdukhakimov, Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change, Uzbekistan; Osvaldo Álvarez-Pérez, Minamata Convention COP 6 President; Camila Isabel Zepeda Lizama, Bern III Conference Co-Chair, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mexico; and Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary, UN Convention to Combat Desertification
Committee of the Whole and Contact Groups
View of the dais during Contact Group I: Cluster A
Contact Group II: Cluster D Co-Chair Felista Rugambwa, Tanzania
Daniel Boeira Lodetti, Brazil
Itsuki Kuroda, Japan, and Elizabeth Nichols, US
Kexiong Du, China
Marco Crugnola, Switzerland
Alexis Kilbane, US
Committee of the Whole Chair Norbert Kurilla, Slovakia
Contact Group I: Cluster A Co-Facilitator Yume Yorita, Japan
View of the room during Contact Group I: Cluster A
Between Sessions
Azra Rogović-Grubić, President, Thirty-Fifth Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on the Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, with Megumi Seki, Executive Secretary, Ozone Secretariat
Anita Breyer, ICCM5 former President, and Maya Berci, Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants COP 12 President
Azra Rogović-Grubić, President, Thirty-Fifth Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on the Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, with Cheikh Ndiaye Sylla, Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer COP 12 President
From L-R: Susan Gardner, Director, Ecosystems Division, UNEP; Kent Nnadozie, Secretary of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture; and Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, Deputy Executive Director, UNEP
Alwin Kopše, Switzerland
Around the Venue
