Green Days by the EPPD: Fourth Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly

Friday, 14 June 2019

Fourth Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly

The United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) is the highest decision making body on environmental matters in the UN system. It comprises all 193 UN Member States, Major Groups and other relevant stakeholders. Member States engage in formal preparatory discussions under the framework of the Open-Ended Meetings of the Committee of Permanent Representatives in preparation for the agenda of the UNEA. The Committee of Permanent Representatives also provides advice to the Assembly on policy matters, prepares decisions for adoption by the UNEA and oversees its implementation.

The fourth meeting of the Open-Ended Committee of Permanent Representatives (OECPR-4) was held during the period March 4th-8th 2019, at the United Nations Office in Nairobi (UNON), Kenya. It served as the main intergovernmental preparatory meeting for the fourth session of UNEA (UNEA-4), which was also held at the UNON, Kenya from 11th-15th March, 2019. There was also a High-Level Ministerial segment from March 14th-15th, 2019.

Trinidad and Tobago was represented by the Honourable Minister Camille Robinson-Regis, Minister of Planning and Development (MPD), and Ms. Keima Gardiner, Waste Management Specialist, MPD. The Honourable Minister delivered Trinidad and Tobago’s national statement following the official opening ceremony of the High-Level Ministerial segment. Additionally, as part of the launch of the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Waste Management Outlook, Ms. Gardiner was invited to represent the Caribbean SIDS on the panel for the event.

UNEA-4 was the largest Assembly thus far with participation from five (5) Heads of State and Government, 157 Ministers and Deputy Ministers, and approximately 5,000 participants from 179 countries. The gathering provided high level interaction and discussion on the theme “Innovative solutions for environmental challenges and sustainable consumption and production” and addressed the following three (3) focus areas:

i. environmental challenges related to poverty and natural resources management, which included sustainable food systems, food security and halting biodiversity loss;

ii. life-cycle approaches to resource efficiency, energy, chemicals and waste management; and

iii. innovative sustainable business development at a time of rapid technological change.

Following deliberations over two (2) weeks on an initial list of thirty-six (36) resolutions, and three (3) draft decisions, by the closing plenary, twenty-three (23) resolutions and three (3) decisions addressing global environmental issues were adopted at the Assembly. These reflect the ambitious goals on the global environmental agenda, with noteworthy resolutions including those on marine litter and microplastics, single-use plastics, curbing food loss and waste, sustainable nitrogen management, mineral resource governance and promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in environmental governance.

At UNEA-4, Trinidad and Tobago was one (1) of three (3) countries that declared an interest in becoming a member of the UN Environment’s Clean Seas Campaign, which aims to fight against marine plastic pollution, bringing the total number of members to sixty (60) countries worldwide.