All 193 Member States of the United Nations are represented in the General Assembly. The General Debate is each member's opportunity to discuss and work together on a wide array of international issues. The theme for the 76th session is "Building Resilience through hope to recover from COVID-19, rebuild sustainably, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people, and revitalise the United Nations."
Watch all the General Debates at the 76th session at the bottom of the page.
Representatives from UNEP are organizing and/or taking part in the following events:
20 September, 2021 | 9 AM - 6 PM EDT | SDG Moment 2021
A one-day meeting was planned to identify critical interventions to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. The SDG Moment meeting sought to:
- Reinforce the continued relevance of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and build momentum in advance of major summits and intergovernmental meetings.
- Highlight urgent actions needed to ensure COVID-19 response and recovery efforts are equitable, inclusive and accelerate the transition to sustainable development.
- Demonstrate that transformative change at scale is possible between now and 2030.
More information can be found online: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sdg-moment/
20 September, 2021 | 10 - 11 AM EDT | Global Compact Annual High-Level Meeting on Ocean
This high-level meeting on the margins of the UN General Assembly week gathered leaders from businesses, academia, Governments and United Nations partners. This year’s meeting launched the next phase of the Sustainable Ocean Business Action Platform with the establishment of the Ocean Stewardship Coalition. As part of the UN Global Compact 2021-2023 renewed strategic ambition, the Coalition scaled the collective global impact of sustainable ocean business to deliver on all 17 Global Goals and a net-zero, resilient economy.
More information can be found online: https://unglobalcompact.swoogo.com/unitingbusinesslive21
21 September, 2021 | 8 - 9:30 AM EDT | Launch of UrbanShift: Transforming Cities for People and Planet through Integrated Urban Development
Experts had a discussion about holistic solutions and strategies to combat urban environmental crises, such as pollution and biodiversity loss. Local leaders in India, Sierra Leone, and Argentina discussed how cross-sectoral collaboration is spurring low-carbon growth within their cities.
UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen participated.
22 September, 2021 | 8 – 10:00 AM EDT | Transformative Action for Nature and People
UNEP partnered with Antigua & Barbuda, AOSIS, Belgium, Bhutan, Colombia, Costa Rica, EU, France, Gabon, UK, Vietnam, UNDP and others for this high-level event to showcase action to protect, conserve, sustainably use and restore nature and close the finance gap.
23 September, 2021 | UN Food Systems Summit
The event was held during the UN General Assembly in New York and took the form of a virtual event. The aim of the Summit was to deliver progress on all 17 of the SDGs through a food systems approach, leveraging the interconnectedness of food systems to global challenges such as hunger, climate change, poverty and inequality. More information about the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit and list of Advisory Committee and Scientific Group members can be found online: https://www.un.org/foodsystemssummit
24 September, 2021 | High Level Dialogue on Energy
The High-level Dialogue on Energy (HLDE) was the first global gathering on energy held under the auspices of the General Assembly since the 1981 UN Conference on New and Renewable Sources of Energy. This was a Heads of State / Government event about SDG7 on energy and its three goals of universal access to modern energy, renewable energy, and energy efficiency. UNEP has been involved since the beginning, assuming responsibility for preparing with IRENA and UNESCAP the Thematic Background Report on the Energy Transition (one of five thematic reports) and on organizing the ministerial level Energy Transition thematic day in June.
UNEP has pressed that expanded energy access to meet needs in unserved populations and climate change mitigation are not incompatible; and that the HLDE should support greater climate ambition at COP26. This link to the climate change COP is even more pressing given the IPCC report just released.
24 September, 2021 | 11 AM - 12 PM EST | 2021 SDG Action Zone
UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen participated in this year’s SDG Action Zone.
Other events were planned related to financing for development and other topics.
A listing of mandated events at the high-level week of the UN General Assembly can be found here: https://www.un.org/en/ga/76/meetings/
All the General Debates at the 76th Session
20 September 2021 - SDG Moment Event
21 September 2021 - https://youtu.be/SXxe0ule23M
22 September 2021 - https://youtu.be/fnh1_DzYBx4
23 September 2021 - https://youtu.be/RcqUzJPzkTc
24 September 2021 - https://youtu.be/4UggGqYVujw
25 September 2021 - https://youtu.be/qYT28yQkrH0
27 September 2021 - https://youtu.be/KQ-2MjL3FD8
