NEW YORK, United States of America, May 20, 2016/APO (African Press Organization)/ —
This Monday hundreds of key decision-makers from all over the world will meet in Nairobi to tackle some of the most critical issues of the day, from air pollution that kills millions of people every year to illegal trade in wildlife that is pushing species to the brink of extinction.
This will be the second-ever meeting of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-2) – the world’s de facto Parliament for the Environment.
A series of ground-breaking reports that shine a light on the state of the world’s environment will be released during the Assembly, offering solutions that will help the world overcome some of the most pressing environmental issues of our time:
(All times – Nairobi)
20 May 2016 Launch of the Frontiers report on major emerging environmental issues.
23 May 2016, 13.00 Launch of Healthy Environment, Healthy People finds that premature deaths from environmental degradation far outstrip the number of people killed in conflicts.
24 May 2016, 13.00 Launch of the Actions on Air Quality looks at how mixed progress
on air quality has caused an 8% rise in air pollution in cities, threatening to
add to the seven million people killed dying from poor air quality each year.
25 May 2016, 13.00 Launch of the International Resource Panel’s Food Systems and Natural
Resources report, which calls for a total overhaul of the way the world’s
food systems work and lists 12 ways the world can end hunger and stem
environmental damage from these systems.
26 May 2016, 13.00 Launch of the Green is Gold report looks at China’s bid to build
an eco-civilization.
On May 27th the assembly will pass a raft of resolutions that seek to tackle a number of critical issues, from the vast amount of plastic waste in our oceans to the sustainable management of the world’s coral reefs.
Among the resolutions that will be discussed are:
· The illegal trade in wildlife products, which has become the fourth largest illegal trade in the world after weapons, drugs and human trafficking.
· Food waste – 1.3 billion tonnes is wasted every year. If this waste was turned into meals, it would provide enough nutrition to feed all of the undernourished people in the world.
· The fading health of our oceans – more than 30 per cent of the world’s fish stocks are overexploited, depleted or recovering from depletion and more than 50 per cent are thought to be fully exploited.
· Sustainable consumption and production, which will be essential if the world is to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population.
· The world’s natural capital, which, if harnessed properly, could drive economic growth, improve healthcare and education, and reduce poverty.
Experts and government ministers will be available for interviews on all of these issues.
For a list of all media events, please visit:
http://www.unep.org/docs/UNEA2_Media_Events_Schedule.pdf
More than one thousand delegates from all over the world – from governments, businesses and civil society – will attend UNEA. There will be interview opportunities with many of these officials and key leaders – Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, French Ecology Minister Segolene Royal, 56 government ministers from all over the world, Iran’s vice president, Ireland’s Former President Mary Robinson, the Director-General of the World Wildlife Fund, the Political Director of Greenpeace and the CEOs of BMW and of the Ugandan electric buses manufacturer Kiira Motors.
UNEA Highlights (all times – Nairobi):
Sunday, 22 May
17:30-20.00 Solar Soccer Cup – Phillips/KNVB Community Lighting Centre, Mathare, Nairobi
(separate media advisory will be sent)
All below events are at UNEP Headquarters in Gigiri, Nairobi
Monday, 23 May
10.00-11.30 – Opening Plenary
Monday to Wednesday, from 09:00 until late afternoon
Sustainable Innovation Expo
Wednesday, 25 May
09.00-12.00 Symposium on Mobilizing Sustainable Investments: Making Private Finance Work
for Sustainable Development
14.30-17.30 Symposium on environment and displacement: Root causes and implications
19.00-21.00 UNEA Unplugged: an engaging, dynamic and open debate on
the main UNEA themes.
Thursday, 26 May
10.00-11.30 Opening of the High Level Segment and Statement by UNEP Executive Director
For more information on UNEA: http://web.unep.org/unea
NOTES TO EDITORS:
For accreditation to UNEA (by 21 May) follow: http://web.unep.org/unea/media-accreditation
