The sixth session of the ESCAP Committee on Environment and Development will take place from 9-10 December 2020 as a virtual meeting via videoconference to ensure the safety and well-being of all participants given the COVID-19 outbreak as well as on-going travel restrictions in many countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Bangkok-based representatives from member States and international organizations are welcome to participate in person at the United Nations Conference Centre, Bangkok.
The Committee will deliberate on the region’s environmental challenges in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and focus on necessary actions across four key environmental domains critical to the Asia-Pacific region: Raising Climate Ambition, Safeguarding Ecosystem Health, Clean Air for All, and Cities for a Sustainable Future. The Committee will review the Secretariat’s analysis of these issues and the opportunities for strengthening regional cooperation to accelerate progress against the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals. The Committee may wish to provide the secretariat with guidance on further development of policy options and implementation tools and offer guidance on implementation of the Environment and Development sub-programme to effectively address the significant issues discussed at the session.
In advance of the sixth Committee on Environment and Development, ESCAP will conduct a Leadership Training programme, which will focus on the four environmental domains to be discussed at the Committee (Raising Climate Ambition, Safeguarding Ecosystem Health, Clean Air for All, and Cities for a Sustainable Future). Member State representative planning to attend the Committee are encouraged to participate in the training programme.
Country statements
Agenda item 2: Environment and Development in the aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic in Asia-Pacific
- Malaysia
- China
- Maldives
- Bhutan
- Russian Federation
- Japan
- Republic of Korea
- Bangladesh
- India
- International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW)
- Asia-Pacific Research Network (APRN)
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Agenda item 3: Accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in Asia-Pacific through environmental solutions
3(a) Raising climate ambitions; 3(b) Safeguarding ecosystem health
- Republic of Korea
- Kazakhstan
- Timor Leste
- Russian Federation
- Malaysia
- Japan
- France
- Bangladesh
- UNESCO
- Roots for Equity
Agenda item 3: Accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in Asia-Pacific through environmental solutions
3(c) Clean air for all; 3(d) Cities for a sustainable future
- Russian Federation
- France
- Republic of Korea
- Maldives
- Japan
- Malaysia
- Mongolia
- Iran
- Bangladesh
- United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)
Agenda item 4: Consideration of the future focus of the subprogramme
- Japan
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- Thailand
- France
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- Asia-Pacific Research Network (APRN)
Agenda item 5: Other matters
- Timor-Leste
- Asia-Pacific Research Network (APRN)
