Global South with 80% of the Global Population is at Higher Risk of Climate Change – The Fifth Forum of Ministers and Environment Authorities of Asia Pacific.  

The fifth Forum of Ministers and Environment Authorities of Asia Pacific (5th AP Forum)  took place from 3rd to 6th October 2023 in Colombo, Sri Lanka.  The event was jointly organized by the Government of Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Environment and the United Nations Environment Programme. 

Mr. Naseer Ahamed, Minister of Environment, Sri Lanka made the welcome remarks by addressing the importance of this forum. It provided a platform for governments, intergovernmental organizations, and other stakeholders to discuss and prioritize environmental issues in the Asia Pacific region. Eventually, he addressed that the global south accounts for 80%  of the global population and is at greater risk of climate change in the globe. Since financial management comes to a critical point in tackling emergency situations and ensuring the population’s safety, he added. 

Afterwards, Ms. Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director, of the United Nations Environment Programme addressed the forum. “Every result of the implementation, those benefits are should applicable to conservation preservation and restoration are equitably distributed to those who deserve including vulnerable communities, indigenous people and local commu;nities who are the first audience of 80% of the biodiversity and yet represent only 5% in the world” she strongly said.  

The keynote address was done by  Mr. Ali Salajegheh, Vice President of, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Ms Aniva Clarke, delegate of Major Group for Children and Youth addressed the event highlighting the importance of youth engaging in climate action.  

Ms. Aniva Clarke from CYMG addressed the event. 

 Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, President of Sri Lanka explains the condition of annual extreme weather events and the set targets for managing these conditions especially 44 targets of sustainable development goals to tackle climate change. The government is focused on managing health, climate, weather, cities, oceans and lands. Sri Lanka has developed sustainable plans in various sectors. Chemical management, hazardous waste management, national policy of sustainable consumption and production, green procurement policy and green framework are the main projects the government set on to achieve in future but the net-zero 2050 roadmap requires over 100 billion US dollars he added.   

Afterwards, Mr. Lim Sang-jun, Vice Minister of Environment, Republic of Korea addressed the event and the election of officers and adoption of the agenda took place. 

 Ministerial Dialogue on Sustainable Multilateral Actions to Tackle Climate

Change, Biodiversity Loss and Pollution in Asia and the Pacific 

The three planetary environmental crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution are interrelated and often transboundary in nature and highlight the urgent need for collective global and regional actions to mitigate climate change, halt biodiversity loss, and reduce environmental pollution to ensure the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. 

This ministerial dialogue supports regional multilateral actions. Those are the bridge between global aspirational targets, such as the SDGs, Paris Agreement and Kunming-Montreal Framework, and operational targets in the national policies and strategies. In this context, science-based decision-making for regional multilateral actions should be focused on knowledge sharing, capacity building and science-harnessed national policies and regional multilateral cooperative programmes and actions.

Multistakeholder’s dialogue: Multilateral Environmental Cooperations to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution (challenges and opportunities)

Stockholm+50 has emphasized the global interconnectedness of the environment and the need to collectively address the three planetary environmental crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution – for present and future generations. The Stockholm+50 called for greater accountability to deliver on national and international responsibilities and address the three planetary environmental crises in integrated ways.

Ministers, Heads of the Delegation, MEA Secretariats, other stakeholders, and  representatives shared their views of Asia-Pacific regional perspectives  on effectiveness of the multilateral environmental cooperations, including finance, technology, and capacity building, at national, subregional, and regional levels, to achieve internationally agreed goals including SDGs on climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. 

The ministers, Heads of the Delegation, and other high-level representatives will have an opportunity to share perspectives on well-coordinated global and regional mechanisms and effective actions to achieve various MEA targets including SDG targets, related to climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution in Asia and the Pacific. Ministers and other high-level representatives are also invited to share successes, best practices, and suggest concrete actions towards achieving sustainable multilateral actions at national, subregional, and regional levels. 

Youth international and local representatives  in the forum. 

Finally, The Ministers and Heads of Delegation considered the draft report of the Senior Officials Meeting and it will take place to the policy perspectives and commitments in Asia Pacific to address the theme of the six sessions of the United Nations Environment Assembly ‘‘Effective, inclusive, and sustainable multilateral actions to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution’. 

As well with the initiatives of the fifth forum, also aims to connect with the sixth session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) taking place from 26 February to 1 March 2024 in Nairobi, with the theme “Effective, inclusive and sustainable multilateral actions to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution”. 

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