The UN Environment Assembly is key to fixing our planet

As geopolitical challenges and tensions escalate globally, one thing is clear: fragmented politics will not fix a fractured planet.

This is why the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) – the world's highest decision-making body on the environment – is so critical to addressing our shared and emerging environmental threats.

The seventh session of the assembly, which is taking place at the headquarters of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi, Kenya, this week, has brought together ministers, intergovernmental organizations, multilateral environmental agreements, the broader UN system, civil society groups, scientists, activists and the private sector to shape global environmental policy.

Recent UNEP data show emissions continue to rise as the impacts of global environment and climate challenges are accelerating and growing ever more extreme. We see it in record heatwaves, disappearing ecosystems, and toxins in our air, water and soil. These are global threats that demand global solutions.

Even in turbulent times, environmental multilateralism continues to deliver. Since countries met at the UNEA last year, this multilateralism has delivered important progress.

Governments agreed to establish the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution – finally completing the "trifecta" of science bodies alongside the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). The BBNJ Agreement on the sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction came into force, a major win for the governance of our oceans.

Importantly for such a challenging political climate, the Paris Agreement is showing that it is working. However, it is clear we need to move much faster, with greater determination. Change is afoot: the global shift to low-emissions and climate resilient development is irreversible. Pricewise, renewable energy is outcompeting fossil fuels. Climate smart investments will drive tomorrow's vibrant economies and societies.

While we must recognize that many were hoping COP30 would include explicit reference to phasing out fossil fuels in the decision text, this was not to be. However, the COP president committed to creating two roadmaps during his one-year tenure, one to halt and reverse deforestation and another to transition away from fossil fuels – a move that was backed by more than 80 countries during the talks.

These are not small steps – nor are they enough to address the threats we face in full. But they do reinforce the fact that multilateralism can still bring science and policy together to address global challenges.

Of course, progress is not always straightforward. Since the UNEA's historic resolution in 2022 on a legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, negotiations have continued to advance. While we do not yet have a full treaty text agreed, the latest talks in Geneva earlier this year made hard fought progress and countries remain at the table, sustaining momentum toward an agreement that ends plastic pollution once and for all.

This coming year, under the theme of "advancing sustainable solutions for a resilient planet", the UNEA will build on these wins to set the stage for even greater progress.

The seventh edition of the flagship UNEP report, the Global Environmental Outlook, will be key to informing how we deliver this future. Released during the sitting of the UNEA, the report will help move us beyond diagnoses of our common challenges to identifying real solutions across five interconnected areas: economics and finance; circularity and waste; environment; energy; and food systems. Drawing on contributions from hundreds of experts worldwide, the outlook will help countries prioritize the most effective methods for delivering on our global goals.

To deliver at the speed and scale required, the United Nations system must act together – with the full family of Multilateral Environmental Agreements aligning to support countries' efforts. The UNEP is proud to host 17 conventions and panels that span the environmental spectrum, from toxic chemicals to protection of the ozone layer. Bringing this family of agreements closer together offers opportunities to better align priorities.

This is why the UNEA will put a central focus on how these agreements can be made to compliment each other to ensure accelerated, more targeted support is on offer to countries as they implement commitments. Action on climate is action on biodiversity and land; action on land is action on climate; action on chemicals, pollution and waste is action on nature and on climate.

Inaction now carries a clearer cost than ever. At UNEA-7 in Nairobi – the environmental capital of the world – the "Nairobi Spirit" can convert shared challenges into shared action and, ultimately, shared prosperity on a safe, resilient planet that benefits all.

The United Nations Environment Assembly runs until Friday in Nairobi.

The author is executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, and contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.