How pollution produces antimicrobial-resistant germs, the threat from sand and dust storms, the importance of protecting our oceans: the United Nations Environment Assembly served Tuesday as a launch pad for a new report spotlighting fast-emerging environment issues.
The 2017 Frontiers Report was a highlight of day two of the Assembly, which has brought together hundreds of government, business, science and civil society leaders to seek solutions to the global problem of pollution.
Norwegian Environment Minister Vidar Helgesen praised the report for putting important issues, including new pollutants, under the noses of politicians, and helping make sure their decision-making is based on facts.
“This report is important because it is connecting science and policy and, more than ever, we need to stand up for knowledge-based politics,” Helgesen said.
High-level negotiations
The report debuted as ministers and heads of state including Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta drove forward the Assembly’s work on resolutions that could drive and guide global action on pollution for years to come.
Edgar Guterrez, the president of the Assembly and the environment minister of Costa Rica, called for bold action against the waste and contamination that is “quietly killing our planet and our people.”
Scientific and technological advances in recent decades mean that we already have the tools to reverse this trend, he said. “Yes, we all have the right to a clean environment, but we must all be prepared to act for it.
Circular economy
Tuesday also saw a well-attended ‘leadership dialogue’ on the transition toward a more resource-efficient “circular” economy.
Delegates dug deep into issues including designing products so they be easily recycled, how finance can encourage sustainable business, and whether incineration can be part of responsible resource management (not in the long-term, speakers agreed).
Addressing plastic waste, UN Environment head Erik Solheim said: “We need to phase out what we don’t need, make what we do need with better materials, and recycle all the plastics that we use … I’m very optimistic that in 20 years, we will see a much more circular economy.”
Earth Negotiations Bulletin is providing detailed coverage of deliberations at the Assembly, which concludes Wednesday.
Earlier, a breakfast discussion of how to tackle the problem of marine pollution elicited a new insight into how different types of pollution can create even more difficult problems.
Nigerian Environment Minister Ibrahim Usman Jibril flagged how teams trying to clean up oil spills recently discovered huge amounts of plastic waste mixed in with the spilled oil in creeks along the Nigerian coast.
“The question of all this litter under our oceans must be addressed, and the time to do it is now,” Jibril said.
Young champions
At the Sustainability Innovation, UN Environment Young Champion of the Earth Kaya Dorey was among panelists exploring how to reduce the enormous pollution and waste associated with the clothing industry.
Dorey called for big apparel firms to take responsibility for recycling their products once consumers have finished with them. Dorey’s own firm in Canada plans a take-back program for its compostable clothing.
Several of the Young Champions, as well as signer and newly appointed UN Goodwill Ambassador Ellie Goulding will be on hand at a gala dinner on Tuesday evening when the senior Champions of the Earth will be announced.
