The seventh session of the Committee on Environment and Development at ministerial level was called for by the declaration adopted at the Seventh Session of the Ministerial Conference on Environment and Development in Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP/74/10/Add.1).
The Committee will be organized on the theme of “Protecting our Planet through Regional Cooperation and Solidarity in Asia and the Pacific” from 29 November – 1 December 2022.
About the ESCAP Committee on Environment and Development
The Committee on Environment and Development (CED) is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). It is convened every two years to review regional trends, identify priorities for action, promote dialogue, consider common regional positions and promote a collaborative approach to addressing the development challenges of the region between Governments and civil society, the private sector and the UN System and other international organizations. The CED provides recommendations to the Commission as a body – made up of 53 members and 9 associate members.
This year, pursuant to the declaration adopted at the Seventh Session of the Ministerial Conference on Environment and Development in Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP/74/10/Add.1), the Committee is being held at the Ministerial level. It will be convened on the theme: Protecting our planet through regional cooperation and solidarity in Asia and the Pacific.
What will be the outcome of the CED in 2022?
As a working committee of the Commission, the CED’s deliberations and its outcomes will support regional action and guide ESCAP’s responses in collaboration with the UN system and other development partners and stakeholders.
Member states are discussing two main outcomes during the preparatory process. The first is a Ministerial declaration on Asia-Pacific environment and development challenges and regional responses. The draft declaration draws attention to regional collaboration and solidarity on environment and development challenges. The second is an Asia-Pacific programme on air pollution, as a platform for cooperation for improved air quality management. The draft covers a wide scope of actions, including identifying technical and financial resources to accelerate action.
Other opportunities to advance regional action provided by the CED include: discussion on reinvigorating multilateralism to strengthen the implementation of the regional agreements; Terms of reference for a Technical Expert Working Group on Environment and Development, being tabled; raising awareness on Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration of 1992 on access to information concerning the environment participation in decision-making processes and access to judicial and administrative proceedings; Regional discussion on the future of Asia-Pacific oceans in the Day for the Ocean; and Partnership events inviting new collaboration and networking opportunities, as well as side events and an exhibitions to deepen the discussion and exchanges.
