Bahrain confirmed as vice president of United Nations Environment Assembly

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Special Envoy for Climate Affairs and Chief Executive of the Supreme Council for Environment Dr. Mohamed bin Mubarak Bin Daina has participated in the fifth session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5).

The session, conducted virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is held under the overall theme of “Strengthening Actions for Nature to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals."

UNea-5 provides leadership, catalyzes intergovernmental actions on the environment, and contributes to the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The theme calls for strengthened action to protect and restore nature and the nature-based solutions to achieve the SDGs in its three complementary dimensions -social, economic and environmental.

Bin Daina said that Bahrain was confirmed as the Vice president of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA).

He stressed that Bahrain has launched three environmental initiatives - the National Air Quality Strategy, the assessment of sustainable consumption and production, and the adaptation to climate change, especially the rise in the sea level, which is an important issue for the Kingdom as it is committed to dealing with it as an island nation.

Ministers of the environment and other leaders from more than 150 nations participated in UNEA-5.

In a political statement, entitled “Looking ahead to the resumed UN Environment Assembly in 2022 – Message from online UNEA-5, Nairobi 22 – 23 February 2021” endorsed at the close of the Assembly, member states reaffirmed UNEP’s mandate as the leading global environmental authority and called for greater and more inclusive multilateralism to tackle the environmental challenges.

The statement said the assembly wished “to strengthen our support for the United Nations and for multilateral cooperation and remain convinced that collective action is essential to successfully address global challenges.”

It went on to warn that “more than ever that human health and wellbeing are dependent upon nature and the solutions it provides, and we are aware that we shall face recurring risks of future pandemics if we maintain our current unsustainable patterns in our interactions with nature.”