149th meeting
of the Committee of Permanent Representatives of UNEP
18 February 2020
Interventions on behalf of the European Union
and its Member States
Agenda Item 4: Report of the Executive Director
Chair, Madam Executive Director, distinguished colleagues; it is my privilege to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.
Serbia and Ukraine align themselves with this statement.
I would like to thank the Executive Director for her report, which is a very useful tool to keep the CPR up to date on recent developments. We encourage you to continue providing this information. I would like to refer in particular to the important evidence brought to our attention and the attention of parties meeting at the Climate COP in Madrid towards the end of last year, through the series of scientific reports, including the 2019 Emissions Gap Report.
These and other evidence-based activities of UNEP, are setting the tone for this year, 2020, the “Super Year for Nature”, to quote Madam Executive Director. This is indeed a year that we must not waste and we have to rise to the challenge and take the opportunity to agree a new ambitious and accountable biodiversity framework with a clear overarching target that could drive and lead the efforts of the international community and all relevant stakeholders at all levels. In the same 2020 year we must meet the already overdue commitment to implement the Paris Climate Agreement. Dear colleagues, today’s collective ambition is so low, that, according to UNEP’s report, we would need to come up with five times stronger NDCs, if we want to keep the warming of our Planet below 1.5 degrees. And we hope that we will be on the right track to achieve this goal before the next Climate COP in Glasgow, taking place later this year.
However, most of all, we would like to see that the environmental agenda ceases to be fragmented and that policies and actions are integrating responses across all dimensions, whether climate, biodiversity, pollution or otherwise. So that the detrimental effects of environmental degradation that undercut sustainable development are fully recognised and addressed.
And for that we need a strong UNEP and UNEA that truly sets the global environmental agenda. As we approach the 50th anniversary of UNEP, the EU and its Member States, would like to thank Sweden and Kenya for their joint proposal to kick-start a process at UNEA-5 in February next year and to culminate in a UN High Level Meeting in 2022, in Stockholm. We see this as a great opportunity to mobilise urgent action to lead the world to a sustainable path.
While a lot remains to be done, we are pleased to see increased efforts by UNEP in promoting the environmental dimension in the UN system. As stated on previous occasions, we would like to receive regular updates on activities under the Environment Management Group and UNEP’s engagement with the UN Resident Coordinator System. We welcome also the update on UNEP’s achievements in methodology for the SDG indicators and look forward to a continued update on the alignment of UNEP’s Programme of Work with the 2030 Agenda. One particular opportunity emerging in the near future is the meeting of the UN Chief Executive Officers to be held in May in Nairobi. We would like to ask that the CPR be duly informed about the preparations as well as the outcomes of that meeting as well as UNEP’s activities and achievements in this regard. We are also grateful for the update and welcome the increasing cooperation between UNEP and other relevant UN agencies, like UNDP,FAO, WHO and, of course, UN-Habitat.
As regards UNEP’s financial status, we note with appreciation the adoption by UNGA of the Programme Budget for 2020, but are concerned about the continued funding gap for sessions of UNEA. It is of fundamental importance that this issue is addressed in order to ensure enough resources for a strengthened and relevant UNEA.
Lastly, Chair, allow me to thank the Executive Director for the update on regional activities. As far as Europe is concerned, we look forward to the visit by Ms Andersen and her team to Brussels in early March for the EU-UNEP high level meeting in view of enhancing our multilateral cooperation on climate, biodiversity, circular economy and international environmental governance in the context the new EU policy the European Green Deal. I am also pleased to inform my distinguished colleagues that the European Commission agreed in January to support with ca. EUR 16 million twelve UNEP projects in areas directly contributing to the Programme of Work and Multilateral Environmental Agreements.
I thank you Chair, I thank you colleagues and wish all of us a very fruitful meeting today.
Agenda Item 5: Implementation of par.8 of UNEA Decision 4/2 (UNEP@50)