Delegates from over 170 countries have convened in Nairobi, Kenya, for the seventh session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7), amid mounting global environmental crises. The assembly, running from 8 to 12 December, focuses on urgent challenges including climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, pollution, and the environmental impacts of emerging technologies. UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Inger Andersen emphasized the stakes, calling for immediate, large-scale action. “If we invest in a stable climate and healthy nature, the world can achieve significant economic gains, avoid millions of premature deaths, lift hundreds of millions out of poverty, and deliver greater equity and climate justice,” she said. Andersen highlighted that no nation can confront these crises alone, urging cross-border cooperation and coordinated sectoral efforts.
Kenyan President William Ruto noted that Africa is already disproportionately affected by environmental crises, from failed harvests to destructive floods. “Africans are paying the price for a crisis they did not create,” Ruto said, stressing that economic growth must align with sustainable environmental policies. “We can decouple growth from emissions and pollution, but this transformation must be fair, accessible, and affordable.” UNEA-7 is expected to shape global strategies to combat melting glaciers, toxic pollution, rising seaweed blooms, and other pressing environmental challenges, offering a platform for countries to adopt policies aimed at a sustainable and pollution-free future.
