In preparation for the 50th anniversary of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm+50), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) published a synthesis report of five regional multi-stakeholder consultations it co-convened with the Global Opportunities for Sustainable Development Goals (GO4SDGs). The report highlights key common recommendations on priority policies and actions to support sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), Africa, Europe and North America, and West Asia.

The Stockholm+50 meeting will convene in Stockholm, Sweden, from 2-3 June 2022. Hosted by the Governments of Sweden and Kenya, with support from UNEP and other partners, it will take place under the theme, ‘Stockholm+50: A Healthy Planet for the Prosperity of All – Our Responsibility, Our Opportunity.”

Five regional multi-stakeholder consultations convened in advance of Stockholm+50, bringing together regional stakeholders, including youth, Indigenous Peoples, governments, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to: give voice to and facilitate the engagement of stakeholders; ensure a “bottom-up mapping of key elements and actions needed to safeguard the human environment in the 21st century in the context of each country’s and each region’s needs”; and review and assess how the human environment can be enhanced to help countries and regions achieve the SDGs.

The regional consultations convened virtually as follows:

Participants addressed the themes of three “leadership dialogues”: reflecting on the urgent need for actions to achieve a healthy planet and prosperity of all; achieving a sustainable and inclusive recovery from the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19); and accelerating the implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development in the context of the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development.

The synthesis report highlights key recommendations from the leadership dialogues and from working groups on high-impact sectors identified by the regions as priorities. Some of the common recommendations are:

  • Criminalize “ecocide” and protect environmental defenders;
  • Eliminate fossil fuel subsidies globally and divert funds to more sustainable sectors;
  • Recognize the rights of nature and enshrine these rights in domestic legislation and an international declaration;
  • Respect and integrate indigenous rights and knowledge;
  • Promote sustainable finance and rational, efficient, and equitable investments to accelerate SDG implementation;
  • Promote the shift from a linear to a circular economy;
  • Promote digital transformation;
  • Promote sustainable consumption and production patterns;
  • Prioritize and support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); and
  • Address plastic pollution, including by banning single-use plastics.

[Publication: Synthesis Report of the Five Regional Multi-stakeholder Consultations for the Stockholm+50 Meeting] [Regional Multi-stakeholder Consultations] [Stockholm+50 Website]