Summit on a Global Pact for the Environment
– As delivered –
Statement by H.E. Mr. Miroslav Lajčák, President of the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly, at the Summit on a Global Pact for the Environment
Heads of state and government, ministers, excellencies, delegates, ladies and gentlemen.
Mr. President, at the outset I want to congratulate France for its demonstrated leadership in our shared responsibility to act on the environment. Your personal commitment to this important cause is very inspiring.
Convening this Summit today, is another step in the journey towards environmental sustainability.
We all welcomed the adoption of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change at COP21 -which was so well convened under the presidency of Laurent Fabius.
I also wish to recognise our Secretary-General, whose own commitment to climate action is already well known.
The presence of so many Heads of State and Government, Ministers and high representatives shows that a global consensus is growing. We are all realizing that, as custodians of the only habitable planet, we must take action to ensure its future. And we must take it quickly.
It is quite timely that we are meeting here today. As you are aware, the theme of the 72nd Session calls for peace and a decent life for all on a sustainable planet. Every pillar of the UN’s work is equally important. But we must remember that nothing we do for peace, human rights or development can take hold if the planet is being degraded around us.
Today’s Summit allows us to reinforce some key messages.
The first is that we cannot ignore the urgent need for action.
Even though humans have been in existence for only a small fraction of Earth history, our impact on the planet has been enormous. The nature of this impact has deeply changed in scale, speed and complexity.
While humanity has reached higher levels of well-being, our planet’s capacity to support us has eroded. Human populations are beginning to compete for increasingly scarce resources.
With the projected increase to the world’s population every year, the current global population of 7.6 billion is expected to reach 8.6 billion in 2030, 9.8 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion in 2100, according to new United Nations data. This will lead to a bigger need for access to food, water and energy, which will further increase the impact on the environment.
Current trends of Green House Gas emissions increase the likelihood of severe and irreversible impacts on people and ecosystems. Millions of people are affected by extreme weather events; last week Hurricane Irma brought death and destruction to the Caribbean and the United States. Many African countries have been impacted by the worst drought in decades, provoking serious humanitarian situations.
The Ocean has become a dumping ground for pollution and waste. Ocean warming and acidification, destructive fishing practices, overfishing and illegal, and unreported and unregulated fishing are putting pressure on marine ecosystems pointing towards an eventual collapse.
As we heard at the recent Oceans Conference, there is a risk that, by 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish.
While humanity has reached higher levels of well-being, our planet’s capacity to support us has eroded.
Regarding a proposal to adopt a global pact on environment, this proposal deserves consideration and deliberation among Member States and other stakeholders. The initiative makes an attempt to strengthen coherence and integration within the vast body of existing Agreements and instruments on the environment.
First: Member States need to consider appropriate options for an eventual Global Pact to fit with the more than 500 existing multilateral environmental agreements;
Second, there is a need to look at this initiative from the broad and comprehensive perspective of sustainable development. Deliberations should give due attention to the three pillars of sustainable development namely the economic, the social and the environmental, in a balanced, indivisible and comprehensive manner. The role for the Pact in ongoing efforts to achieve the SDGs must also be assessed.
Third: the UN system, civil society, private sector, academia and other relevant stakeholders need to be involved in this ambitious initiative. The environment affects every nation and every human. Inclusiveness is key to delivering an outcome that achieves the needed transformation at all levels.
Excellencies,
Today’s event sends a signal of the importance of environmental issues for our deliberations in the Session ahead.
We will have excellent opportunities to strengthen our focus on environmental issues, including with the review of SDG15 by the High Level Political Forum on sustainable development this summer.
One of my roles as President of the General Assembly is to facilitate inclusive and open dialogue among Member States. This would be a top priority if I was to receive a mandate from Member States regarding the proposed Global Pact.
Thank you again, Mr. President.
