Expectations ramp up ahead of Stockholm+50 international meeting

UN Member States and other stakeholders convening on Monday, 28 March 2022, at UN HQ in New York ahead of June’s international meeting Stockholm+50: a healthy planet for the prosperity of all – our responsibility, our opportunity. The preparatory meeting concluded with a series of suggestions for leadership dialogues, expected to mobilize the global community behind strengthened cooperation and accelerated, innovative action on the environment and development.

The UN General Assembly decided in May 2021 to convene the international meeting in Stockholm to commemorate 50 years since the UN Conference on the Human Environment – co-hosted by the Governments of Sweden and Kenya in Stockholm on 2 and 3 June 2022 – to bring the global community together, reflect and act on the interconnections between development, poverty, and the environment.

Speaking at the preparatory meeting, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Keriako Tobiko, said: “Enhanced complementarity between UNEP@50 and Stockholm+50 – in order for the International meeting to leverage on the outcomes of UNEA5.2 and UNEP@50 – is paramount for bold action to be attained. “It is my hope that Stockholm+50 will aim to undertake a multi-stakeholder approach that prioritizes the inclusion of the youth, as they are the custodians of the environment and the future planet, women, indigenous groups and civil society groups in the decision-making process,” he added.

Sweden’s Minister for Climate and the Environment, Annika Strandhäll, said: “We are now in the home stretch of preparations for Stockholm+50. Throughout the conversation I hear a common direction we must translate commitments into action and rethink wellbeing. Stockholm+50 therefore provides an opportunity for the world to come together to chart the course towards a green and fair future for all of us.”

Stockholm+50 will include three leadership dialogues, which are expected to yield clear and concrete recommendations for action at all levels; the dialogues were discussed in multi-stakeholder deliberations during Monday’s preparatory meeting:

Leadership dialogue 1: Reflecting on the urgent need for actions to achieve a healthy planet and prosperity of all.

Leadership dialogue 2: Achieving a sustainable and inclusive recovery from the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).

Leadership dialogue 3: Accelerating the implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development in the context of the Decade of Action and delivery for sustainable development.

“In an already unequal world, Stockholm+50 is a chance to reshape national and global interactions. A chance to deliver equity. A chance to amplify a global movement for a more caring world, one that takes on the concerns of youth and vulnerable people. A world that creates relationships of trust. A world that turns commitment into action,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP and Secretary-General of the Stockholm+50 international meeting.

“We are looking for recommendations and promises for action to address unsustainable consumption and production; For innovative financing approaches, such as debt for nature swap; For transforming harmful subsidies, such as backing fossil fuels,” she added. “A new dawn is just beyond the horizon. Stockholm+50 will be a moment to move together, in solidarity and collective action, to deliver on this brighter future.”

Beyond UN Member States, stakeholders include organizations and bodies of the United Nations system, intergovernmental organizations, international financial institutions, civil society groups, indigenous peoples’ organizations, academic institutions, the scientific community, the youth, the private sector and philanthropic organizations.

Stockholm+50 is a critical milestone towards renewed multilateralism and strengthened global solidarity. It is a time for bold action and engagement by acknowledging and highlighting the need for international unity, reciprocity, and diversity. This is a time for all actors to find their unique place in a global system, in collaboration with others, to embrace new ideas and commit to a shared responsibility for a better future on a healthy planet with prosperity for all, with a focus on principles of intergenerational responsibility, inclusive participation and interconnections, and implementation opportunities.