Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli will attend the third session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) in Nairobi, Kenya on Dec 5 and 6, where he will deliver Singapore’s National Statement and participate in a leadership dialogue.
In the National Statement, he will share Singapore’s approach to sustainable development and emphasise the importance of cooperation between countries in dealing with transboundary pollution.
His topic at the inaugural Leadership Dialogue will be “Practical solutions towards a pollution-free planet”.
The UN meeting involves all United Nations member states, and Mr Masagos will be joined by more than a hundred environment ministers at a high-level segment to discuss current and emerging global environmental issues. This year’s session is expected to adopt more than 10 resolutions and a ministerial declaration on the commitment to address pollution.
The United Nations Environment Assembly governs the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which was created in 1972 to coordinate environmental matters within the UN system and set the global environmental agenda.
While all UN member states can participate in the UNEA, only accredited members can become part of the Committee of Permanent Representatives, the key body that shapes the agenda and decisions of the UNEA.
Singapore was accredited in February last year. The Government appointed Mr Hazri Hassan, Director of International Policy at the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, as Singapore’s first Non-Resident Permanent Representative to the UNEP.
Besides Mr Masagos and officials from the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources and the National Environment Agency, three non-governmental organisations from Singapore will also be participating in this year’s session.
They are the Singapore Environmental Council, WWF Singapore and the National Youth Achievement Award Council.
Source: http://bit.ly/2Bwk7Nq
