Summary
The third session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-3) opened on Monday at the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON). After adopting the agenda and organization of work, delegates heard opening statements before convening the Committee of the Whole (COW) to review the status of decisions and resolutions to be forwarded to the Assembly for adoption. At a parallel plenary session, country representatives presented national statements.
In the afternoon, delegates convened informal consultations to move forward on outstanding decisions and resolutions, but did not manage to reach agreement on all draft texts. The COW plenary convened late into the night.
IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from OECPR-3 and UNEA-3. The summary and analysis is now available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Mike Muzarakis
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Opening Plenary
From L-R: Sahle-Work Zewde, Director General, UNON; Judi Wakhungu, Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Water and Natural Resources, Kenya; Miroslav Lajčák, President of the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly; Erik Solheim, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); UNEA President Edgar Gutiérrez-Espeleta, Minister of Environment and Energy, Costa Rica; and Jorge Laguna-Celis, Secretary, Secretariat of Governing Bodies, UNEP
Miroslav Lajčák, President of the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly
Erik Solheim, Executive Director, UNEP
UNEA President Edgar Gutiérrez-Espeleta, Minister of Environment and Energy, Costa Rica
Judy Wakhungu, Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Water and Natural Resources, Kenya
Siim Kiisler, Minister of the Environment, Estonia
Sahle-Work Zewde, Director General, UNON
Pacôme Moubelet-Boubeya, Minister of Forest, Sea and Environment, Gabon
Two young citizens from Uganda and the US present the #BeatPollution Pledge which was signed by more than 2,3 million individuals.
OECPR Chair John Moreti, Botswana
Elizabeth Taylor, Colombia
Raza Bashir Tarar, Pakistan
Saleh Sulaiman Al-Harthi, Oman
The Ethiopian delegation
Marta Juarez Ruiz, Costa Rica
Sahle-Work Zewde, Director General, UNON, with Jorge Laguna-Celis, Secretary, Secretariat of Governing Bodies, UNEP
Marie-France Houle, Canada, with Kimo Goree, IISD
National Statements
Francisca Ashietey-Odunton, Ghana
Erasmo Martínez, Mexico
Ahn Byungok, Vice Minister of Ministry of Environment, Republic of Korea
Elsa Galarza Contreras, Minister for the Environment, Peru
Ibrahim Usman Jibril, Minister of State for Environment, Nigeria
Cynthia Silva Maturana, Plurinational State of Bolivia
Firdovsi Aliyev, Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, Azerbaijan
Committee of the Whole
Chair of the COW, John Matuszak, US
George Orina, Kenya
Andrew McNee, Australia
Toni Sandell, Finland
Fernando Coimbra, Brazil
Side Event: Towards a Pollution-Free Planet: Accelerating the Sound Management of Chemicals and Wastes
From L-R: Alejandro Garofali, Uruguay; Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary, Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions; Jutta Emig, Germany; Mathias Schluep, World Resources Forum; Friedrich Barth, International Sustainable Chemistry Collaborative Centre; and Antonia Gawel, World Economic Forum
Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary, Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions
Jacob Duer, UNEP
Mathias Schluep, World Resources Forum
Alejandro Garofali, Uruguay
Friedrich Barth, International Sustainable Chemistry Collaborative Centre
Side Event: Unlocking Trade in Environmentally Sound Technologies to Tackle Air Pollution
From L-R: Ambassador Alvaro Cedeño Molinari, Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the World Trade Organization (WTO); Kennedy Orwa, Executive Director, African Centre for Technology; Aik Hoe Lim, Director, Trade and Environment Division, WTO; Jodie Roussell, CEO, Global Solar Council; Eliza Anyangwe, Freelance journalist and founder of The Nzinga Effect; VijayShekhar Sharma, Founder and CEO, Paytm; and Jorge Rodriguez Romero, European Commission’s Directorate General for the Environment
Kimmo Tiilikainen, Minister of the Environment, Energy and Housing, Finland
Ambassador Alvaro Cedeño Molinari, Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the WTO
Jorge Rodriguez Romero, European Commission’s Directorate General for the Environment
Kennedy Orwa, Executive Director, African Centre for Technology
Eliza Anyangwe, Freelance journalist and founder of The Nzinga Effect, moderated the event
Side Event: Taking Action to Reduce Pollution in the Extractive Sector
The panel during the side event
John Atherton, International Council on Mining and Metals
Marco Lambertini, WWF
Helen Hakena, United Network for Worldwide Disaster Aid (UNWDA), Papua New Guinea
Women's Major Group Media Event: Attacks on Environmental Women Human Rights Defenders Unacceptable
View of the panel during the press conference
Hanna Gunnarsson, Women's Major Group
Griffins Ochieng, Centre for Environmental Justice and Development
Priscilla Achakpa, Women's Major Group
Reception hosted by the government of Kenya
