UN Environment meeting ends with commitments to end pollution

UN Environment meeting ends with commitments to end pollution

The third United Nations Environment Assembly that saw over 4,000 heads of state, ministers, business leaders, UN officials, civil society representatives, activists and celebrities gathered at the summit in Nairobi comes to a close today.

The meeting that began on Monday under the theme of beating pollution, sought to deliver tangible commitments to end the pollution of our air, land, waterways, and oceans, and to safely manage our chemicals and waste.

Speaking to Citizen Digital, Fazal Issa, a delegate from the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance, said the meeting was a step in the right direction on addressing pollution but warned that more commitment was needed from member states.

According to reports, pollution leads to 6.5 million deaths per year.

On Wednesday, President Uhuru Kenyatta officially opened the meeting where he underscored the importance of the ban on manufacture, sale, and use of plastic bags in the country.

The meeting is the world’s highest level decision making body on the environment.

Speaking about pollution and health, the World Bank noted that pollution has a direct impact on the social-economic growth of a country.

“Governments are usually unaware of the cost of pollution to their health and also on economic growth.” Said Luxembourg

While citing the recent ban on plastics in the country, Kenya spoke on the positives achieved as well as the challenges and the need for further engagement with manufacturers to utilize neutral alternatives all the while creating jobs.

South Africa highlighted steps to scale-up green initiatives and further challenged all States to “join hands” to ensure pollution is not alleviated but eradicated while WWF International emphasized on how pollution touches on economy and security.

Tags:

World Bank land Pollution air plastic ban a delegte from the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance delegate environemnt Fazal Issa oceans Pan African Climate Justice Alliance UNEA United Nations Environment Assembly waterways

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