FROM ESTABLISHING a science policy panel for chemicals and waste management to agreeing to restore ecosystems, the world passed 14 resolutions at the resumed session of the fifth United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA), held in Nairobi, Kenya, between February 28 and March 2, 2022.
The most crucial of these was the decision to establish an intergovernmental negotiating committee that will forge a legally binding agreement to end plastic pollution. World leaders plan to start negotiations on this resolution in June. If the timeline is kept, this will be the second fastest environmental agreement to move from the adoption stage into negotiations. This highlights the urgency of the problem and the global commitment to address it. The proposed committee has the ambitious task of drafting an agreement on plastics by the end of 2024, when the leaders plan to or meet for the sixth Assembly.
Of the 11 global environmental agreements either in force under discussion, the resolution to set up the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in the 1990s was the fastest. World leaders took a little less than two months to move from adopting the resolution to starting negotiations on UNFCCC. In the Paris Agreement under UNFCCC, it took over five months (see 'Swift move').
RESOLUTIONS GALORE
World leaders passed 14 resolutions to save biodiversity at the recently concluded fifth UN Environment Assembly
Resolutions adopted on
Sustainable lake management (for protection, restoration and wise use)
Nature-based solutions for supporting sustainable development (and meeting 2030 SDGs)
Sound management of chemicals and waste (to achieve SDG on health)
Sustainable nitrogen management (to halve nitrogen waste by 2030)
Biodiversity and health (biodiversity loss and zoonotic diseases linkages)
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Trade On Emissions
EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, a tariff on imports, is designed to protect European industries in the guise of climate action.
'The project will facilitate physical and cultural decimation of indigenous people'
The Great Nicobar Project has all the hallmarks of a disaster-seismic, ecological, human. Why did it get the go-ahead?
TASTE IT RED
Popularity of Karnataka's red jackfruit shows how biodiversity can be conserved by ensuring that communities benefit from it
MANY MYTHS OF CHIPKO
Misconceptions about the Chipko movement have overshadowed its true objectives.
The politics and economics of mpox
Africa's mpox epidemic stems from delayed responses, neglect of its health risks and the stark vaccine apartheid
Emerging risks
Even as the world gets set to eliminate substances threatening the ozone layer, climate change and space advancement pose new challenges.
JOINING THE CARBON CLUB
India's carbon market will soon be a reality, but will it fulfil its aim of reducing emissions? A report by PARTH KUMAR and MANAS AGRAWAL
Turn a new leaf
Scientists join hands to predict climate future of India's tropical forests
Festering troubles
The Democratic Republic of Congo struggles to contain mpox amid vaccine delays, conflict and fragile healthcare.
India sees unusual monsoon patterns
THE 2024 southwest monsoon has, between June 1 and September 1, led to excess rainfall in western and southern states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, while others like Nagaland, Manipur and Punjab recorded a deficit.
