Page 4 - AfrElec Week 23 2022
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AfrElec COMMENTARY AfrElec
UN stresses green issues are
key to reducing poverty and
boosting sustainability
GLOBAL MAINTAINING a healthy planet and ensuring because national implementation is key, and
prosperity for all requires a renewed emphasis expressed optimism for a decision on a global
on reducing environmental impact, sustainabil- biodiversity framework, a convention on plas-
ity and changing the way the current economic tics pollution, and advancement on climate
system works, commitments.
The UN has set out the broad framework The conference was convened by the UNEP
for future efforts to deal with environmental 50 years after the original UN Conference on
problems, stressing the climate change, pollu- the Human Environment in Stockholm in 1972.
tion, energy, security and global equity are all The conference put forward 10 key rec-
interconnected. ommendations to global governments and
At stake are the UN’s Sustainable Develop- policymakers.
ment Goals, which call for global economic The first was recognised that a healthy planet
development to go hand in hand with protecting is a prerequisite for peace, cohesion and pros-
the environment and fighting climate change. perous societies.
At the Stockholm +50 conference, convened In other words, climate change now had an
earlier in June by the UN Environment Pro- impact on all areas of global politics and eco-
gramme, the UN called for global government nomics, meaning that governments and com-
and corporations to the accelerate the imple- panies cannot ignore climate change and factor
mentation of the environmental dimension of green issues into their decision making.
sustainable development in order to achieve The conference calls for a strengthening of
a sustainable and inclusive recovery from the national implementation of existing commit-
pandemic. ments for a healthy planet, while also aligning
“This is the decade when things have to shift: public and private financial flows with environ-
we must bend the curves of emission, of loss of mental climate and sustainable development
biodiversity and of all unsustainable loading of commitments.
all materials caused by overproduction and con- Delegates also called for an acceleration of the
sumption,” Johan Rockstrom professor in envi- system-wide transformations of high impact
ronmental science at the Stockholm Resilience sectors, such as food, energy, water, buildings,
Centre, told the conference. and construction, manufacturing and mobil-
Stockholm +50 called for placing human ity. In other words, these are the key areas that
well-being at the centre of a healthy planet and need to become greener and more sustainable in
prosperity for all, and recognising the right to order to combat climate change.
a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. To achieve this, the world reinforce and rein-
The demands come as climate change, the vigorate the multilateral system, rebuilding rela-
current energy crisis, high temperatures and tionships of trust for strengthened cooperation
pressures on food supplies are threatening to and solidarity.
create an environmental and food crisis that Lastly, the world must recognise intergener-
could cause bread riots, mass migration and ational responsibility as a cornerstone of sound
agricultural disaster. policy-making, suggesting that combating cli-
Swedish Minister for Climate and the Envi- mate change is a decades-long task, and will be
ronment Annika Strandhäll told the conference dealt withby generation that have yet to be born.
of the need to rethink and redefine how to meas- The conference also stressed that future global
ure economic growth and success, align MEAs, efforts would concentrate on the wellbeing
scale up finance, work towards a political recog- economy and all that that entails for a polycen-
nition of the right to a clean and healthy envi- tric approach to future delivery, rather than the
ronment, and rebuild trust in the multilateral previous focus on institutions and treaties.
system.
She added that work must continue at home
P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 23 09•June•2022
