Adoption of resolution A/75/L.135 - International Meeting “Stockholm+50: A healthy planet for the prosperity of all - our responsibility, our opportunity”. Joint statement, on behalf of Sweden and Kenya, delivered by HE Magnus Lennartsson, Deputy Permanent Representative of Sweden to the UN, New York, 13 September 2021
Mr. President,
On behalf of Kenya and Sweden who co-facilitated Resolution A/75/L.135 entitled Modalities for the International Meeting “Stockholm+50: A healthy planet for the prosperity of all - our responsibility, our opportunity”, I would like to thank all delegations for their active and constructive engagement during the informal consultations.
Next year will mark 50 years since the pioneering 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm. A Conference which greatly contributed to the emergence of a global environmental agenda through its various outcomes, which included the creation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Over the past five decades, Member States have agreed and committed to action, notably through the landmark conferences at Rio and Johannesburg, as well as through the adoption of the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement.
While significant progress has been made in meeting many sustainable development challenges, the science is clear: environmental changes are undermining hard-won development gains. Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals is lagging, and the pandemic has caused further severe setbacks. We need to do more, faster and together. To tackle Climate change, biodiversity loss and pollutions, require different responses for each of us, but no country will be able to resolve this challenge alone. The coming decade is crucial. A multilateral approach is necessary.
The title of the Stockholm+50 meeting calls attention to the fact our challenges are interlinked: a healthy planet and the prosperity of all is essential to achieve sustainable development and to ensure the wellbeing of this and future generations. It also highlights that it is our responsibility to leverage this opportunity.
Stockholm+50 should be a platform to promote collective action for strengthened cooperation and accelerated implementation of sustainable development, including its environmental dimension, with a focus on cross-cutting actions that are designed to reduce inequalities and benefit especially the poor and vulnerable. Stockholm+50 will also contribute to achieving a sustainable recovery from the coronavirus disease pandemic.
Success will require a whole of UN-system approach. The resolution requests the Secretary-General to appoint the Executive Director of UNEP as the Secretary-General of the meeting. UNEP will serve as the focal point for providing support to the organization of Stockholm+50. In this capacity UNEP will be well positioned to support preparations and discussions ensuring coherence and consistency between Stockholm+50 and UNEP@50. The United Nations Environmental Assembly and other relevant UN bodies are invited to provide input to the meeting, as appropriate.
The Stockholm+50 international meeting will be convened in Stockholm on the 2nd and 3rd of June 2022 and we encourage participation at the highest possible level.
With the adoption of this modalities resolution, the preparations leading up to a successful meeting next year in Stockholm can now accelerate. We are looking forward to the constructive engagement by Member States in the preparatory process leading up to Stockholm+50.
In closing I would like to express the sincere appreciation to UNEP and the Department of General Assembly and Conference Management for their excellent technical support during the consultations. And let me once again thank all delegations for their active engagement in the process so far, and you Mr. President, for giving me the floor.