“If we do not change, the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste, will only accelerate,” said Inger Andersen, Secretary-General of Stockholm+50, and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme at the conclusion of the Stockholm 50 conference. As one more Environment day goes on, the above quote gains significance.
Well, the world has so much to take home at the just concluded Stockholm 50 conference that laid emphasis on commitments for a healthy green planet for the prosperity of all. The world has to look forward to the call at the Stockholm+50-environment conference for real commitments to urgently address global environmental concerns, and for a just transition to sustain able economies, that work for all.
At the two day conference, hundreds of speakers attending Stockholm+50, have called for real commitment to urgently address global environmental concerns and for a just transition to sustainable economies that work for all people. The meeting concluded with a statement from co-hosts Sweden and Kenya, drawn from Member States and stakeholders through the meeting’s plenaries and leadership dialogues.
RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE STATEMENT
1. Place human well-being at the centre of a healthy planet and prosperity for all, through recognizing that a healthy planet is a prerequisite for peaceful, cohesive and prosperous societies; restoring relationship with nature by integrating ethical values; and adopting a fundamental change in attitudes, habits, and behaviours, to support common prosperity.
2. Recognize and implement the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, through fulfilling the vision articulated in principle 1 of the 1972 Stockholm Declaration.
3. Adopt system wide change in the way the current economic system works to contribute to a healthy planet, through defining and adopting new measures of progress and human well-being, supported by economic and fiscal policies that account for the value of the environment; investing in infrastructure, developing effective policy and encouraging a global dialogue to promote sustainable consumption and production; and promoting phase out of fossil fuels while providing targeted support to the poorest and most vulnerable in line with national circumstances and recognizing the need for financial and technical support towards a just transition.
4. Strengthen national implementation of existing commitments for a healthy planet, through enhancing environmental national legislation, budget, planning processes and institutional frameworks; promoting evidence-based policym aking, including by enhanced collaboration between academic disciplines and thematic scientific panels, drawing on insights and expertise from indigenous and traditional knowledge: and scaling-up capacity support and development, access to and financing for environmentally sound technologies.
5. Align public and private financial flows with environmental, climate and sustainable development commitments through developing and implementing well-designed policies to re-purpose environmentally harmful subsidies: redirecting, mobilizing and scaling up the availability of public and private financial flows to support economic diversification; and adopting recovery and stimulus measures, blended sources of capital, and de-risking instruments that augment financial flows.
6. Accelerate system-wide transformations of high impact sectors, such as food, energy, water, buildings and construction, manufacturing, and mobility, through adopting and implementing policies to promote circularity, resource efficiency, regenerative production approaches and nature-based solutions in value chains, and adopting frameworks that enhance and reinforce transparency and accountability by business: promoting just transitions through support for impacted youth, labour, and local communities by strengthening capacities and skills for the creation of green jobs and for micro, small and medium enterprises, and transforming food systems by promoting regenerative farming and fisheries approaches that provide healthy diets and minimize food waste, including investments in the ocean economy.
7. Rebuild relationships of trust for strengthened cooperation and solidarity, through recognizing the importance of developed country leadership in promoting sustainability transitions: supporting capacity building and technology transfer for national efforts by developing countries to implement internationally agreed environmental agreements, taking into account national circumstances, including honouring the commitment to mobilize $100 billion every year for climate finance for developing countries, and enabling all relevant stakeholders including youth, women, rural communities, indigenous peoples, interfaith groups and local communities to participate meaningfully in policy formulation and implementation at both national and international level.
8. Reinforce and reinvigorate the multilateral system, through ensuring an effective rules-based multilateral system that supports countries in delivering on their national and global commitments, to ensure a fair and effective multilateralism; strengthening environmental rule of law, including by promoting convergence and synergies within the UN system and between Multilateral Environmental Agreements: strengthening the United Nations Environment Programme, in line with the UNE P@50 Political Declaration.
9. Recognize intergenerational responsibility as a cornerstone of sound policy-making, through engaging with the Stockholm +50 Global Youth Task Force Policy Paper: highlighting the important need of building the capacity of young people to engage with financial institutions: recognizing the critical role of young people in environmental action, and highlight that progress has been made on fostering meaningful youth engagement, and calling upon the multilateral environmental funds to include youth-inclusive parameters in funding schemes, and further take steps to ensure ease of access of funds for environmental action for youth -led organizations. 10. Take forward the Stockholm +50 outcomes, through reinforcing and reenergizing the ongoing international processes, including a global framework for biodiversity, an implementing agreement for the protection of marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction, and the development of a new plastics convention, and engaging with the relevant conferences, such as the 2022 UN Ocean Conference, High Level Political Forum, the 27th Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the Summit of the Future.
KEY QUOTES
Secretary-General of Stockholm+50, and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme Andersen; “We came to Stockholm 50 years after the UN Conference on the Human Environment knowing that something must change. Knowing that, if we do not change, the triple planetary crisis of climate chAnge, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste, will only accelerate.
“Now we must take forward this energy, this commitment to action to shape our world”
General Assembly President Abdulla Shahid:” The workplace of the future must be rooted in equity and free of discrimination and harmful stereotypes about women’s skills, work ethic, leadership abilities or intellect.
Sweden’s Minister for Climate and the Environment, Annika Strandhall; “We believe that we have – collectively – mobilised and used the potential of this meeting. We now have a blueprint of acceleration to take further.”
“Stockholmt 50 has been a milestone on our path towards a healthy planet for all, leaving no one behind.”
