The President of the 76th session of the General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Abdulla Shahid, delivered remarks at the high-level virtual side event on “How changing water availability from ice and snow will impact our societies”, co-organised by a consortium of partners, including Hungary, Nepal, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, UNDESA, the World Bank, UNESCO (IHP), UNEP, UN-Water and WMO.
In his statement, the President noted that the retreats of glaciers is a disheartening impact of climate change which has led to severe changes in supply and availability of water, to rising sea levels and more flooding events. The President stressed the importance to build up resilience and mitigate the effects, all in line with his priorities on rebuilding sustainably, and responding to the needs of the planet as laid out in his “five rays of hope”.
He outlined that the 2023 UN water conference must therefore spur ambitious action for implementation of SDG-6 and other water-related international goals, and he underlined the necessity to achieve the promise of safe water and sanitation for all by 2030, with the UN Water’s SDG-6 global acceleration framework as blueprint for this.
The President pledged that the 76th GA-session will be a ‘super session on the environment’.
22 September 2021
