PLANETARY CHALLENGES AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY: VIRTUAL DISCUSSION ABOUT UNEP MEDIUM-TERM STRATEGY 2022 – 2025 

As accredited member to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), OIPA International had the honour to participate on 17 August 2020 in a virtual and interactive conversation about the next UNEP’s Medium-Term Strategy for the period 2022-2025 together with UNEP Representatives and other Major Groups and Stakeholders represented also by not-for-profit and non-governmental organizations.

UNEP’s next MTS is being developed to ensure that, as nations invest in building back a better world from the current COVID-19 pandemic, their efforts do not merely recover the old and unsustainable economic models of yesterday, but they will finally act out new models aim to build a healthier, greener, more sustainable and resilient economy that is centered on human and planetary wellbeing.

The planetary challenges of climate change, nature loss and pollution – the centerfold of such vision – will require broad systemic shifts particularly in our global consumption and production patterns, coupled with severe policy changes towards low-carbon, nature-based and unpolluting outcomes.

During the session, participants discussed in groups the role that each organization can play to become an active agent of change towards that vision and how to enable UNEP to provide a global environmental leadership and face together all these environmental challenges. In addition, the discussion covered how to allocate economic resources and budget priorities; the active inclusion of civil society, stakeholders and major groups in environmental governance and the need to encourage collective actions that can improve the quality of our planet’s health and drive the entire world to more sustainable outcomes.

It is of a great importance to raise awareness in citizens, especially children and youth, and increase public engagement to achieve the necessary behavioural shifts and the systemic transformations that support UNEP’s emerging vision for the planet.

Read the draft agenda: https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/32917/Agenda%20item%202%20MTS%20Narrative.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y