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Info Service on UN Sustainable Development (May25/01) New Delhi, May 2 (Radhika Chatterjee): A briefing on United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) medium-term strategy (MTS) for the period 2026-29 and its draft programme of work (PoW) for 2026-27 was held at the subcommittee of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR) to the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) on April 22, 2025. Conducted in hybrid mode, the session was chaired by Ambassador Firas Khouri of Jordan. [Member States through UNEA decision 6/7 had requested the UNEP’s Executive Director to prepare the MTS 2026-29 and PoW for 2026-27 for consideration and approval at UNEA-7.] Jyotsna Puri, Director of UNEP’s Policy and Programme Division, presented the situation analysis document to Member States at the meeting. This document “is a key input to the development of the medium-term strategy”, said Puri during the briefing. The only other substantial item on this meeting’s agenda was the budget of UNEA-7, which was presented by Radhika Ochalik, Director, Governance Affairs Office, UNEP. She shared that the estimated budget for UNEA-7 is US$ 4.45 million, and that the current funding gap stood at US$ 1.7 million. She also shared details of the roadmap for UNEA-7 in her presentation. Saudi Arabia said the MTS should include a commitment to capacity building to developing countries, tailored to their needs. It said these efforts must be guided by the principle of common but differentiated responsibility (CBDR). It said issues relating to climate action must align with principles and provisions of UN Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Paris Agreement, and that targets on energy sources are not acceptable, adding that the focus should be on emission reductions, including through the use of carbon capture and storage, green hydrogen, and circular carbon economy. It called for inclusion of circular carbon economy in the MTS. It welcomed the inclusion of issues related to desertification, land degradation, and drought and said the issue demanded urgent attention. In the context of funding, it highlighted the importance of predictable funding and said developed countries must provide funding to developing countries to support drought resilient actions. Iran said multilateralism and cooperation, and issues of development and conservation of environment are relevant to all matters. In this context, it said many countries are facing challenges due to unilateral coercive measures which in turn prevent them to access finance, technology and so on. This it said, has weakened the way international organisations collaborate and cooperate. It added that the MTS “should cover and address this issue in order find ways to overcome the challenges for supporting developing countries in particular for strengthening the collaboration and cooperation.” It also asked for inclusion of issues relating to sand and dust storms in the MTS and recalled that this decade has been named by the General Assembly as the decade for combating sand and dust storms. Egypt appreciated the inclusion of the crises of desertification, drought and land degradation, and economic aspects related to it and asked to include more “social aspects related to these crises… including references to food security linked to these issues.” It also expressed hope that more opportunity will be given to Member States for discussing the MTS in further subcommittee meetings. Cuba said access to new technology is a current barrier to most developing countries, especially when it comes to implementing circular economy, resource efficient models, and waste management, particularly e-waste management. It added that existing digital ecosystems allowed for traceability in supply chains, and in this context and asked for these realities to be reflected in the analysis. It said UNEP must contribute to close the technology gap for “otherwise we will not make progress” towards leaving no one behind. Brazil said considering the time period covered by the MTS, it would suggest aligning it with the 2030 Sustainable Development agenda. It emphasized on sustainable development, poverty eradication, particularly where local communities depended on natural resources for livelihood. It asked for the adoption of an integrated approach based on the three pillars of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), and mentioned SDG 12 (responsible production and consumption) in this context. Further, it asked for the inclusion of a dedicated paragraph on the ongoing biodiversity crisis. In the context of environmental solutions as economic ones, it asked for the inclusion of a reference to the bioeconomy as one of the solutions. It said bioeconomy is essential for sustainable development and is a powerful tool for dealing with issues relating to biodiversity, hunger, poverty, health and global nutrition. It also pointed out that the current framing of circular economy in the situation analysis document was “imbalanced” and highlighted the importance of promoting sustainable consumption patterns in developed countries. Mexico and Colombia made similar points as Brazil on the need for reflecting the biodiversity crisis the world is facing in the MTS. Argentina said the UNEP documents should employ typology that is used in Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), especially terms like “developed” and “developing” to refer to countries. Türkiye stressed the need for addressing links between conflicts and environmental challenges in a sensitive manner as these involved legal aspects which a number of other international organizations were also looking into. It said UNEP should focus on increasing cooperation between those institutions, given the legal nature of the process. It made a similar suggestion related to the link between environment and human rights. The Russian Federation said the integral and holistic nature of sustainable development should be reflected in the text, in particular the three pillars of economic, social and environment. It added that environmental goals should not be pursued at the cost of social and economic goals of governments. It also pointed out that UNEP should take into account findings of various studies in the context of fossil fuel use to ensure findings related to the issue do not suffer from distortions. It felt this is important because fossil fuel use is still found to be economically viable at all stages while the cost of renewable energy remains high, putting a strain on government budgets. It also said that UNEP’s role should “remain advisory” in nature, such that it respects national priorities. This it said should be reflected in the MTS. The United Kingdom welcomed the messaging on environmental degradation as the diver of multiple crises and encouraged UNEP to translate this framing into cross sectoral programming, which integrates environmental activities across the system. It stressed the importance of UNEP’s role as a global science authority in an era of misinformation and disinformation. This it said, would help inform decisions with sound evidence. It welcomed references to shortfall in adaptation finance and mentioned the use of tools like blended finance in this context. It suggested the inclusion of reference to oceans and marine ecosystem health, marine biodiversity and ocean climate interactions. On food, climate change and biodiversity, it said the environmental dimension of food system transformation needed more attention and welcomed a more explicit reference to disproportionate impact of these crises on women and girls. The European Union said it recognised the urgent need to align environmental action with sustainable development. It asked why references to the Paris Agreement and SDGs were missing from the document and asked for their inclusion. It said it needs to be ensured that UNEP remains fit for purpose and that priority should be given to environmental SDGs that are lagging behind. It added that science has shown that once environmental considerations are taken into account, it delivers social and economic benefits. It said the MTS and PoW must be “action oriented, forward looking, (and about) transformation” for it to be effective and visible. It asked for including better linkages between UNEP’s budget and its programmes as lessons learned from past implementation should inform future strategies. France said it supported the focus on the use of sustainable artificial intelligence for addressing challenges, the One health approach and nature-based solutions. It asked for the inclusion of issues like glacier melting, coral bleaching, and ocean acidification in the context of climate change. The secretariat informed Member States that the MTS will be developed in an iterative manner. It will provide a background document on the MTS to be available on April 30, 2025, which will discussed in the subcommittee meeting scheduled on May 15, 2025. Roadmap for UNEA-7 and process of submitting draft resolutions In her presentation on UNEA-7’s budget, Radhika Ochalik elaborated on the roadmap for UNEA-7. She said the guidelines for submitting draft resolutions will be finalised at the UNEA and CPR bureau’s joint retreat to be held in Oman on 2-3 July, 2025. The regional environmental ministerial forums will take place from July to October. The intersessional period for UNEA-7 will begin after the annual subcommittee meeting of September 1-5, 2025. Member States will have the opportunity to announce their intention for submitting draft resolutions for UNEA-7 at this meeting. The deadline for submission of draft resolutions and decisions will most likely be September 29, 2025, which is 10 weeks in advance of UNEA, as per the timeframe mandated in UNEA decision 6/7. The submission of the draft resolution has to be accompanied by a concept note that explains the rationale and context of the resolution, including its link to the UNEA theme and UNEP’s PoW, SDGs, emerging global issues that may have an impact on the environment. During the presentation, Ochalik also encouraged Member States to engage in informal discussions with the secretariat before the submission of their drafts “to facilitate possible technical improvements of draft resolutions, including to avoid duplication and overlap of existing work.” Following the annual subcommittee meeting of September, the months of October and November will involve consideration of draft proposals in meetings held in hybrid mode. Ochalik also said Member States should begin the process of identifying core facilitators for their resolutions and that a joint letter from the President of the UNEA and CPR chair would be sent in July “inviting groups to provide names of the core facilitators who could then lead consultations during open-ended CPR and UNEA.” Ochalik also informed Member States that the secretariat will be expanding its use of the e-delegate portal in the run up to UNEA-7 for communicating with Member States. [The deadline for the submission of resolutions will be reviewed at the joint bureau retreat in Oman on 2-3 July, 2025.]
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