-
Last updated on
The United Nations Environment Assembly was created as
- a governing body of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), one of the Belgian partner organisations;
- a political platform bringing together environment ministers in order to set priorities for the global environmental agenda.
UNEA has a universal membership of all 193 UN Member States. It meets every two years in Nairobi, where both the UNEP headquarters and the UN’s headquarters in Africa are located. At its assemblies, UNEA sets priorities for global environmental governance.
For Belgium, it is important that UNEA is a platform that focuses on global environmental challenges but also addresses economic and social actors and delivers messages that are understandable and communicable to a wide audience. UNEA should focus on acute problems that need to be addressed and build on the momentum of other global, international processes. UNEA output should be action- and solution-oriented and inspire the international community to get to work and bring about change on the ground.
Outcomes of the Environment Assembly
UNEA sets priorities by means of resolutions and decisions. Resolutions are submitted by Member States and, when adopted, they represent collective thinking on pressing environmental issues and define priority areas of work for UNEP. Therefore they carry significant political weight.
Across its sessions, UNEA has adopted over 90 resolutions spurring action in issues including circular economy, air pollution, biodiversity, marine litter, water management and protecting the environment in areas affected by armed conflict. Some key recent UNEA outcomes:
- Addressing plastic pollution: UNEA has helped build momentum around international action to address plastic pollution. In 2022, UNEA resolution 5/14 mandated UNEP to convene an intergovernmental negotiating committee to develop a legally binding instrument addressing the full lifecycle of plastics.
- Advancing international science-policy efforts on chemicals and waste: in 2022, UNEA also agreed to establish a science-policy interface on chemicals and waste. This is intended to fill the gap between science and policy and complement existing science-policy efforts on climate change and biodiversity. The International Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution was formally established in June 2025.
- Promoting Nature-based solutions: UNEA has adopted the first internationally agreed definition of nature-based solutions, underscoring strong political commitment to enhance cooperation, increase investment in conservation, and safeguard the concept from potential misuse.
