NOON BRIEFING HIGHLIGHTS BY PAULINA KUBIAK GREER,
SPOKESPERSON FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT ABDULLA SHAHID
United Nations Headquarters, New York

 

STOCKHOLM+50

The President of the General Assembly, Abdulla Shahid, spoke this morning at the opening of the Stockholm+50. As you know, this is an international meeting convened by the UN General Assembly, hosted by Sweden, with support from the Government of Kenya.

The meeting takes place 50 years after the UN Conference on the Human Environment, which was held in Stockholm in 1972. That was the world’s first conference on the environment. One of the events that came out of the original Stockholm conference was the Rio Summit.

In his opening remarks today, President Shahid talks about attending Rio back in 1992. He says that that conference kindled a sense of hope in him, and he is able to keep that hope alive by reflecting on the progress he has witnessed in his lifetime. He notes that the 1.5 degree target used to be a priority only for the Small Island Developing States. But now the entire world has converged around the urgency of that target. He says a legal binging treaty to tackle plastic pollution is underway. And national initiatives, such as the African Green Wall, the Middle East Green Initiative and more.

But to deliver, these initiatives must be part of a broader effort.

The President says quote “Stockholm+50 provides us an opportunity to rekindle the sense of urgency that will be needed to save our planet and leave its climate and rich biodiversity intact. That is the bare minimum we owe to our youth.”

He calls Stockholm+50 a critical milestone to accelerate a new kind of multilateralism.

And notes that the outcomes will be weaved into further GA discussions and events such as the Ocean Conference, the Education Summit and the Summit of the Future.

The President will also convene a Moment for Nature on 19 July, to look at what is working, what isn’t and what more can be done.

 The full remarks are at https://www.un.org/pga/76/2022/06/02/opening-segment-of-the-stockholm50-conference/

 

BILATERALS

While in Stockholm, the President has had a number of meetings.

He had an audience with His Majesty King Carl Gustaf and Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Victoria. https://twitter.com/UN_PGA/status/1532311015370674184

He also met with President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya. https://twitter.com/UN_PGA/status/1532325194571948032

As well as with the President of Comoros, Azali Assoumani. https://twitter.com/UN_PGA/status/1532358356718977024

Among other bilaterals, President Shahid met with Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde. https://twitter.com/UN_PGA/status/1532326401994637313

And with the Board of the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production. https://twitter.com/UN_PGA/status/1532397414010830848

There are readouts online.

 

QUESTIONS

There were no questions.