Excellencies, Delegates and friends,
It is a pleasure for me to be present at the second session of the UN-Habitat Assembly also on behalf of Inger Andersen , the UNEP Executive Director, who for exigiencies of work outside the country could not be here but sends her sincere greetings and success for the Assembly. Today is also the World Environment Day, celebrated globally at Cote d’Ivoire, Abidjan – which this year focuses on solutions to plastic pollution. This is an important environmental challenge and a lot of work is being done as I speak. We have just concluded, last week, the second Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee in Paris.
The Negotiating Committee delivered an unequivocal mandate to develop a zero draft of the international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution. The world is calling for an agreement that is broad, innovative, inclusive and transparent. An agreement that leans on science, learns from stakeholders and ensures support for developing nations.
UN-Habitat was there with us, not least because our urban centres will be at the forefront of our efforts to end plastic pollution. Our efforts to address the scourge of plastic pollution call for action on multiple fronts. We have many keys to unlock opportunities. Cities are one of them. And local governments are our pioneers. I look forward to our close collaboration with UN-Habitat as we seek pollution-free plastic solutions.
But we know that plastic pollution is one of the many challenges before us as we seek to tackle the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss and pollution and waste.
Today, as we open the Habitat Assembly, we at UNEP are pleased to see another area of partnership - urban climate action.
Our cities are facing the onslaught of the climate crisis. Both extreme and slow-onset events have compromised urban infrastructure - including transport, water, sanitation, and energy systems. Urban populations exposed to high temperatures are expected to increase nine-fold, by 2050. 90% of urban areas are prone to flooding. And as the mass of humanity continues to locate in our urban areas, we have a formidable challenge ahead of us – to build climate-friendly and resilient cities. I see four priorities for us in the years ahead.
First, countries need to rethink the way we build our cities.
UNEP has been engaged in G7 and G20 discussions.
We are pleased to see commitments around urban cooling, sustainable buildings, transport systems, and construction. This momentum needs to continue through to Climate COP28 and beyond. And we will work with UN-Habitat to bring these national commitments to implementation at the city level.
Second, nature-based solutions work. We know this.
Nature makes our cities better. Nature-based solutions store carbon, reduce energy use, and protect us from extreme weather events. But investments in nature’s infrastructure, such as nature-based solutions, received but a tiny fraction of overall spending on urban infrastructure in 2020.
Third, UNEP and UN-Habitat are working together to put people at the centre of innovation.
We all know this – the best ideas, the best plans fail because we don’t put people first. On plastics for example, we have a great partnership between UNEP and UN-Habitat’s Waste Wise Campaign that combines both technology and human ingenuity to tackle plastic pollution.
But more needs to be done.
Fourth, and most importantly, we are working with UN-Habitat to scale up action.
Finance will play a key part in scaling up these efforts. UNEP has been working with banks for decades to ensure the environment is central to cities’ climate efforts. We need to see more action from governments too. I ask Members of this Habitat Assembly to provide clear paths for local governments to take climate action.
Discussions at this Assembly will be critical to ensuring that our cities remain places of opportunity and hope for generations to come. We at UNEP look forward to working more with you towards this common goal so as to achieve a better future for our children and grand children.
Thank you.
