While there has been progress in comprehending the significant environmental concerns over the previous 50 years,
less progress has been achieved in creating and implementing ambitious initiatives to address the challenge,
according to the President.
“This meeting seeks to, therefore, accelerate action to avert the environmental crisis and define a pathway towards
an environmentally sustainable future,” the President said.
President Kenyatta addressed at the inauguration of the ‘Stockholm+50’ international environmental conference in
Stockholm, which he co-chaired with Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson.
The inaugural session of the two-day Stockholm+50 summit was also addressed by His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf
of Sweden, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and the President of the 76th session of the United
Nations General Assembly, Abdulla Shahid.
The international environment meeting, which was co-hosted by Kenya and Sweden and commemorated the 50th
anniversary of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, which ushered in a new era
of global cooperation, was held under the theme “a healthy planet for the prosperity of all – our responsibility, our
opportunity.”
The President, noting that the environment agenda is currently at the forefront of global talks, urged all participants
to take advantage of the Stockholm+50 summit to accelerate the pace and quality of environmental action.
“By the time we go to COP27 (the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference) in November this year, we
should aim to have developed a comprehensive, holistic and transformative package of environmental actions.
He said, “This should be an integrated package that pulls together the outcomes of COP26 held last November, the
5th Session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2) in March, the Stockholm+50 and the upcoming UN Ocean
Conference to be held in Lisbon at the end of June,”
Simultaneously time, he urged development partners to follow through on their pledges to double global climate
finance, particularly for adaptation, in order to allow developing nations to invest in climate-resilient infrastructure
and services.
He stated that increased financial and implementation ambition should be at the heart of environmental promises
and initiatives.
He emphasized Kenya’s efforts to address the threat to the environment, saying his administration has continued to
place a high priority on environmental issues.
“This includes a ban on single-use plastics in 2017 and the acceleration of the generation of renewable energy,
which now accounts for approximately 80 percent of our clean energy,” President Kenyatta said.
The President urged all UNEP member states to develop and implement a legally binding instrument to end plastic
pollution, noting that the UNEA-5.2 meeting in Nairobi earlier this year highlighted the importance of collective
action to address the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss.
Recognizing UNEP’s important position as the world’s leading environmental organization, President Kenyatta told
the audience that the Kenyan government has continued to give strong financial and logistical assistance to the
UNEP global office in Nairobi.
While developed countries were the ones causing the most environmental pollution, the poorest countries were the
ones who were hit the hardest by the devastating effects of environmental degradation, according to Swedish Prime
Minister Andersson in her opening remarks.
In this regard, the Swedish Prime Minister stated, “The transition can only be made in a social and inclusive manner.”
And this isn’t just a choice; it’s a moral imperative. We must all follow through on our promises. We must begin to
follow through on the declarations and commitments we have made. We’ve already discussed the subject. Now is
the time to put your money where your mouth is,” Prime Minister Andersson said. d In the green transition, no
country or person should be left behind.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has appealed to world leaders from all sectors to lead the world out of the
environmental quagmire that is endangering the lives of more than 3 billion people and costing up to 9 million
people their lives each year.
“We need to change course now and end our senseless and suicidal war against nature. We know what to do and
increasingly we have the tools to do it. But we still lack leadership and cooperation. So today I appeal to leaders in
all sectors to lead us out of this mess,” the UN Secretary-General said.
Presidents Mokgweetsi Masisi (Botswana), Azali Assoumani (Comoros), Mohamed al-Menfi (Libya), and Collen
Kelapile (UN Economic and Social Council) were among the other speakers, as was UNEP Executive Director Inger
Andersen, who was also the Stockholm+50 meeting’s Secretary-General.