Opening of United Nations Environment Assembly

– As delivered –

Statement by H.E. Mr. Miroslav Lajčák, President of the 72^nd Session of the UN General Assembly, at the Opening of the third session of the United Nations Environment Assembly

Excellencies, distinguished delegates, dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen.

Thank you for inviting me to address you, at this third session of the United Nations Environment Assembly. I want to start by acknowledging the leadership of His Excellency, Edgar Gutiérrez, Minister of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica, and President of this Assembly. I also want to pay tribute to His Excellency, Erik Solheim, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme. Furthermore, I thank the Government and people of Kenya for welcoming us so warmly in Nairobi, and for their ongoing support to the work of the UN Office here.

Excellencies,

When it comes to the environment, we are at a crucial moment in time. It is a moment of great danger. Because, the risks posed by climate change and environmental degradation have never been higher.

However, it is also a moment of great opportunity. Because, international commitment to reducing these risks have, also, never been higher. This was evident through the adoption of ambitious frameworks, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Climate Agreement. It was also evident at this year’s General Debate of the UN General Assembly, during which we heard a record number of references to climate change and sustainability.

So, we must see this as a crucial moment – for action. We must harness the opportunity to mitigate the danger, and we must use our commitments to lessen the risks.

This is what participants of COP23 called for in Bonn.

And this is the only way that we can move towards a sustainable, and a pollution-free, planet.

The first is that we cannot talk about the environment without also talking about people.

Overall, humanity has reached record levels of wellbeing. This has benefited only some of us, but it has damaged the environment which belongs to all of us. In this way, as many of us have begun to live better lives, the planet’s capacity to support us has been eroded.

From the trends we have seen, we can say two things for certain:

One: this could get even worse.

There are roughly 83 million people being added to the world’s population every year. More people mean more demands for resources such as water, food and energy. This will put unprecedented strain on the environment. However, population growth won’t be the only aggravating factor. If our overall lifestyle and consumer patterns continue as they are, environmental degradation will accelerate.

And two: by hurting the planet; we are hurting ourselves.

The World Health Organization has estimated that nearly a quarter of all deaths worldwide, came as a result of living or working in an unhealthy environment.

This September, we learned of the human suffering that was caused by Hurricane Irma in the Caribbean. Last year, we saw the horrific effects of consecutive droughts on people in East and Southern Africa. And now, according to the UNEP emissions gap report, our pledges are not enough to keep the global temperature below 2 degrees, as we committed to, or 1.5 degrees, as we aspired to. This means that even more people are likely to suffer from these kind of severe weather conditions.

The way we are living has further risks – both to the environment and to ourselves. That is because climate change and environmental degradation is also affecting livelihoods. Farmers have seen land, which previously provided both food and income, turn to desert. Coastal communities have seen more and more fishing boats returning to land empty. Climate change is being felt along the supply chain, across borders, and at all levels of society. This means that the progress we have made in reducing global poverty is under serious threat.

We can see this trend acutely when it comes to pollution, which is my second point today.

Again, we can’t talk about pollution without talking about people. We are the main culprits. We are the ones allowing 80% of the world’s wastewater to be released into the environment without treatment. We are the ones causing 4.8 to 12.7 million tonnes of plastic to enter the ocean every year. It is our policies and practices which have led to 2 billion people living without access to solid waste management, and 3 billion others without access to controlled waste disposal facilities.

And, again, we will be the ones to suffer. Air pollution is causing roughly 7 million deaths annually. Children are dying from preventable diseases, caught from contaminated drinking water or poor hygiene practices. Our biggest resource – the ocean – is becoming a dumping ground for plastic, chemicals and other waste. Pollution is also hurting us through its economic effects, including productivity losses, healthcare costs, and damage to ecosystems necessary for livelihoods.

This is why I am grateful to the United Nations Environment Assembly for focusing on pollution for this year’s session.

This brings me to my third point, which relates to the major role played by the United Nations Environment Programme and its Assembly in combatting these trends.

This Assembly is the world’s highest-level decision-making body dedicated to the environment. It is fitting, therefore, that Africa acts as its home. This continent has witnessed some of the most brutal effects of climate change. These effects have been felt by Africa’s land, water and, importantly, people. However, Africa has also produced some pioneering efforts in relation to the environment. We have seen examples of green innovation, efforts to improve environmental governance, and best practices in shared resource management for conflict prevention.

This year, we have gathered in Nairobi to adopt a Ministerial Declaration, which will help to lead us towards a pollution-free planet. The pledges that have been made by many of you will kick-start this journey.

But, a pollution-free planet won’t come about only through political will. We will need action. We will need smart solutions.

We will need cooperation.

This brings me to my fourth point, which is a call to action. This is the kind of action that cannot be taken alone.

Pollution is global. Yes, it can start unilaterally; it only takes one person, in one small part of the world, to pollute the land, air or waters around them. But this will have ramifications for people, and countries, miles away. If we are to truly combat pollution, we must therefore make multilateral commitments, and we must turn them into multilateral action.

We need education and outreach strategies, so that people are aware of what pollution is doing to their lives and their environments. We need to clean up the pollution that has already occurred – and help those who are already suffering from adverse health conditions because of it. We need tighter regulation of waste management. We need investment in environmentally sound technologies so that economic growth does not have to come at the expense of our planet. We need new local, national and regional policies and laws.

Unfortunately, it will not be easy to do any of these things. They will demand money. They will demand expertise. They will demand new technologies. They will demand the pooling of capacities and experiences between partners – from government ministries and regional organisations to civil society, academia, community leaders, and the private sector.

Partnerships and multilateralism lie at the core of our journey towards a pollution-free planet. And, as the main multilateral body on the environment, UNEP will be the leader of the pack.

Excellencies,

When we think of pollution, we think of plumes of smoke coming out of factory chimneys. We think of oil spills, and illegal fishing trawlers. We think of landfill sites, which stretch for miles. However, we should also be thinking about people. It is people who are driving demand, which leads to these activities. And it is people who are suffering because of the pollution they cause.

Like I said, we are in a moment of great danger, and great opportunity. People created the danger, and people must harness the opportunity.

You are all here as leaders and decision-makers. But you are also here as people who can drive this change, and I hope you will.

I thank you.