ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam has been elected as vice president of the UN Environment Assembly bureau to represent Pakistan on the global forum.
This is the first time in history that Pakistan has been elected to the global policy-making forum, according to a communiqué issued on Thursday.
The #UNEA announcing the election of the 8 #VicePresidents to lead the global environmental governance of @UNEP – an honor for #Pakistan look forwards to serving on this august group of Ministers along with my friend @ZacGoldsmith pic.twitter.com/57gpxSWOh6
— Malik Amin Aslam (@aminattock) March 2, 2022
“It is, of course, a great achievement and honour for Pakistan for having been elected as a member of the UNEA body as vice president to lead the global efforts towards goals of making the world climate-resilient and environmentally-sustainable place through a global climate action,” an official statement quoted the PM’s aide as saying.
The UNEA’s ministerial bureau consists of 10 members — one president, eight vice presidents one rapporteur — from among its members, with two members representing each region, who work in various global and regional fora on the environment. The president, the vice-presidents and the rapporteur hold office for two years.
The bureau’s overarching mandate is to “assist the president in the general conduct of the business of the UNEA”. Its periodic meetings provide the Secretariat of the United Nations Environment Programme’s governing bodies and stakeholders with guidance in the preparations for the next session of the UNEA.
PM’s aide Malik Amin said that Pakistan’s election to the UNEA bureau is a clear indication that the world community is appreciative of the government’s globally-acclaimed green programmes, particularly the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Programme, being implemented as a part of the efforts for global climate action for environmental sustainability.
Honored to be elected by #UNEA to represent #Pakistan and serve as #VicePresident and member of 8 member Ministerial #Bureau – the governance body of @UNEP pic.twitter.com/oPmv338Y7t
— Malik Amin Aslam (@aminattock) March 2, 2022
Hosted by the UN Environment Programme, the UNEA brings together representatives of the 193 member states of the UN, businesses, civil society and other stakeholders to agree on policies to address the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.
The resumed fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2) took place online in Nairobi from February 28 till March 2, 2022.
The overall theme for UNEA-5 was “Strengthening Actions for Nature to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,” highlighting the pivotal role nature plays in our lives and in social, economic and environmentally sustainable development.
The fifth United Nations Environment Assembly was followed by a special two-day session, called UNEP@50, which kicked off from March 2.
Held under the overall theme of “Strengthening UNEP for the implementation of the environmental dimension of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, the special session aims to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
