19 September 2017: During an event to discuss France’s initiative to create the first international legally binding document on the environment, UN Secretary-General António Guterres and UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Miroslav Lajcák urged global support for the global pact for the environment. The event convened on the margins of the 72nd session of the UNGA’s annual General Debate.

The Permanent Mission of France to the UN organized the event, which aimed to launch consultations to elaborate on the proposed instrument.

Noting that biodiversity is disappearing at a rate one thousand times faster than the natural rate, the UN Secretary-General invited Member States to support the global pact.

Noting that biodiversity is disappearing at a rate one thousand times faster than the natural rate and 90% of the world’s population is breathing polluted air, the UN Secretary-General invited Member States to support the pact.

The UNGA President said the proposal deserves consideration and deliberation among Member States and other stakeholders as it aims to strengthen coherence and integration within more than 500 existing multilateral environmental agreements. He added that the deliberations should give attention to the three pillars of sustainable development (economic, social and environmental) in “a balanced and indivisible” manner, while also assessing the pact’s role in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The UNGA President further observed that the UN system, civil society, the private sector, academia and other relevant stakeholders should be involved in the global pact.

President of France, Emmanuel Macron, introduced the pact during an event organized at Columbia University, on the margins of the 72nd session of the UNGA’s annual General Debate. [UN Press Release][UN Secretary-General Remarks][UNGA President Remarks] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on Global Pact Event]