Mr. President, Excellencies, Colleagues:
The Philippines congratulates UNEP on reaching this milestone year in the history of its existence. The Community of Nations advocating Sustainable Development and supporting UNEP can also congratulate itself for enabling the institution to survive all these difficult years while achieving gains in resolving critical environmental issues.
On one hand, this is also the opportune time to take stock of the experiences that have been accumulated by the UN community that provided invaluable lessons from “learning while doing.” On the other hand, there is still time to correct mistakes and get back on track towards common goal like sustainable development.
We realize how fast time flies. And fast disappearing are the opportunities for doing the maximum good for this Planet and our very existence as a species. The environmental repercussions we are experiencing are all traceable to us Humans such as climate change that intensifies hazards creating disasters worldwide; the massive disappearance of our support systems like natural resources and their biodiversity; the massive choking of our oceans because of plastics; the rise of zoonotic diseases like COVID-19; and the deterioration of our health from chemicals and wastes.
Therefore, the solution seems very clear. Delivery on the Means of Implementation such as Finance, Technology, and Capacity Building, is now in order, not a re-negotiation of Agreements already made. They are key to the solution of our environmental problems.
Further, as we also have articulated in the second segment of UNEA 5 sessions, it is high time that we use a systematic framework to come up with solutions in the form of policies and actual measures. We are referring to the use of the Risk Management Framework comprising Prevention, Risk Reduction and Addressing risks efficiently that have materialized into impacts.
Let us use this time to take stock of UNEP’s functions, to be more efficient and effective in solving our global environmental problems.
Thank you, Mr. President.
