NAIROBI, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- The high-level segment of the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) opened Thursday in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, with African leaders renewing the call for a revitalized multilateral system to boost action on planetary threats, including climate change, habitat loss and pollution.
Kenyan President William Ruto, in his address to the assembly, said that given the existential threats facing the planet and its inhabitants, there was an urgency to forge a multilateral consensus that promised lasting solutions. "Only collective action at the multilateral level that is effective, inclusive and sustainable will enable the international community to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution," Ruto said.
African heads of state and government attended the two-day meeting, held under the theme of "effective, inclusive and sustainable multilateral actions to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution."
Ruto said that international solidarity was imperative to boost the response to the intersecting ecological crisis, geopolitical tensions, conflicts and global inflation that cast a dark cloud on Africa's sustainability agenda. He added that marginalized African societies were staring at a precipice unless concerted efforts were made to arrest climate emergencies, marine pollution, overexploitation of species and depletion of the ozone layer.
The Kenyan leader called for reform of multilateral institutions to ensure they are capable of galvanizing action against human-induced planetary hazards that have intensified poverty, hunger, disease and hostilities in Africa.
Other African leaders who addressed the high-level segment of UNEA-6 included the President of Botswana Mokgweetsi Masisi, the President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and the President of Djibouti Ismail Omar Guelleh.
Masisi said that Africa had borne the brunt of climate disasters, chemicals and waste pollution, as well as ecosystem degradation, necessitating robust interventions backed by science, policy and sustainable financing. According to Masisi, Africa's green and resilient future hinges on transforming agricultural systems, adopting sustainable mining, transitioning to cleaner energy sources and expanding the acreage of biodiversity hotspots under protection.
Mohamud said that melting ice caps, deforestation and ocean pollution had taken a heavier toll on local communities, undermining their resilience. He added that communities in the Horn of Africa have borne the brunt of rapid desertification and climate-related disasters such as droughts and floods, leading to severe food insecurity and forced migration.
Guelleh said Africa could secure a greener future once governments prioritize low-carbon development and invest in programs geared towards reversing habitat loss. ■
