Focus on enforcement of Sustainable Development Goals
The second session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) will take place from 23 to 27 May in Nairobi. It is the first of a series of UN conferences that will focus on implementing the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in September 2015. Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary of the Environment Ministry, will be the head of the German delegation.
The UNEA takes place every two years. It deals with the most pressing environmental policy problems and sets priorities for global environmental policies. The main topic of this year's session is the question of how to implement the Sustainable Development Goals that are especially important to environmental protection and climate action. Other topics include sustainable consumption and production patterns, protection of the oceans and funding sustainable innovations. Environment and health, chemicals management, water management, species conservation and ecologically sound economic development are also on the agenda.
The Federal Environment Ministry supports the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in providing advice in these areas for many developing countries. One example is the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) that was established by UNEP and is supported by the BMUB through its International Climate Initiative (ICI). This partnership provides strategic, country-specific advice on policy approaches to a low-carbon green economy. During this funding period, Germany is contributing 1.1 million euros (2014-2017).
Since 2008, the BMUB has supported 24 UNEP projects in developing countries and emerging economies with almost 82 million euros. These projects cover a wide variety of environmental issues. For example, villages at high altitudes in Nepal, Uganda and Peru receive support for measures to protect healthy eco-systems such as the protection of watershed areas or reforestation of degraded areas.
In another ICI project, which will be carried out by UNEP, the foundations for developing and implementing ambitious climate action in Africa will be supported at high political level. The member states of the Africa Ministerial Conference on Environment (AMCEN) and the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change (AGN) are partners in this project. Plans include strategic dialogues and climate action measures which aim to empower these countries to implement the agreement adopted in Paris. Cooperation on sustainable tourism will also be continued, as environmental and climate considerations are not yet sufficiently taken into account.in many countries for which tourism is an important industry.