Summary
Highlights for Wednesday, 23 January 2019
Major Groups and Other Stakeholders convened in Singapore, ahead of the senior officials’ meeting on 26 January and the high-level segment with environment ministers on 27 January. Discussions took place around the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) 2019 theme, “Innovative solutions for environmental challenges and sustainable consumption and production (SCP).”In the morning, Dechen Tsering, Regional Director, UN Environment Asia Pacific, emphasized the importance of civil society engagement with UNEA. Hazri Hussain, Permanent Representative to UN Environment, Singapore, highlighted Singapore’s aim of becoming a zero-waste nation. Indigenous rights activist and keynote speaker Joan Carling, Philippines, drew attention to the challenge of ensuring the poor and rural communities truly benefit from development. Two panel discussions took place, on people’s innovative solutions, and on nurturing nature through SCP.In the afternoon, participants met in seven parallel workshops on agriculture, environmental challenges, systemic barriers, community partnerships, youth response, environmental governance, and just transition. In report-backs, they highlighted concerns including pesticide regulation, migration and labour rights, community conservation protocols, the governance of geoengineering, and climate change as “a burning issue” for youth.In dialogue with UNEA President Siim Kiisler (Estonia), participants voiced concerns about access to UNEA negotiations. Kiisler announced a EUR100,000 grant from the Government of Estonia to support CSO travel to the Global Major Groups and Stakeholders Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, ahead of UNEA-4 in March.Two side events took place at lunchtime, on the role of women in renewable energy, and on unleashing the power of youth in sustainable development. The Carnegie Climate Geoengineering Governance Initiative hosted an evening reception for all participants.
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage and a summary report from the 3rd Forum of Ministers and Environment Authorities of Asia Pacific, which is available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Sean Wu
For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page
Opening Plenary
Session 1 - People’s Innovations to Address Environmental Challenges in Asia-Pacific
Session 2 - Nurturing Nature through Sustainable Consumption and Production from the Ground
Side Event: Unleash the Power of Youth in Asia Pacific for Sustainable Development Goals
This event showcased the ‘Global Environment Outlook-6 (GEO-6) for Youth in Asia Pacific’ report, a youth-oriented version of the GEO-6 report. The process aimed to enhance the knowledge of youth and young professionals in the three thematic areas of the natural environment, human health, and the built environment and sought to promote a better understanding of the region’s emerging environmental issues, their causes, and effects.
The event provided a platform for young leaders and professionals to share their insights on sustainable behavioral change, and highlighted existing initiatives in the Asia-Pacific driving actions towards the achievement of the SDGs.
Side Event: Empower Women in Renewable Energy, Technology Transfer and Climate Action to #SolveDifferent Asia Pacific
This event explored the role of gender in environmental management, and discussed ways the Asia-Pacific region can drive the transition to more equitable and sustainable solutions. Participants shared experiences about the leadership and inclusion of women in government, the private sector, and civil society. Speakers included Elenita ‘Neth’ Daño, ETC Group; Esther An, City Developments Limited; Thida Kheav, Co-founder and CEO, SOGE Company; Åsa Heden, Embassy of Sweden in Bangkok; Chu Thi Thanh Huong, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Viet Nam; and Nagaraja Rao, Private Financing Advisory Network.
Afternoon Sessions
Around the Venue
