Sweden moving the global environment and climate agenda forward together with the UN Environment Programme
On 5 December 2019, the Government adopted a new strategy for Sweden’s partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for 2020–2023. The strategy is guided by the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.
“Through our support to UNEP, we want to strengthen the UN’s role in the environmental area and intergovernmental environmental cooperation. In times when global cooperation is being called into question, it is more important than ever to strengthen these institutions and stand up for the value of our joint efforts,” says Minister for Environment and Climate Isabella Lövin.
UNEP is a key cooperation partner in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. Sweden urges UNEP to take global leadership in areas including biodiversity, climate and air, chemicals and waste, and oceans, coastal areas and water. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, UNEP and countries around the world must harness the potential inherent in synergies between these areas, such as links between environment and health.
“We want UNEP to highlight the 50th anniversary of the 1972 Stockholm Conference – the first ever environmental conference – in a way that moves the environment and climate agenda forward. The world is facing major environmental challenges, and we see this as an opportunity to tackle them together,” says Ms Lövin.
Over the next few years, several crucial decisions regarding the environment will be taken at global level. Sweden wants UNEP to actively promote the adoption of two new, ambitious global frameworks in 2020 – one for biodiversity and one for chemicals and waste. Sweden also wants UNEP to drive progress towards a global agreement on regulations on marine littering, plastics and microplastics.