EU Statement – Briefing by UNEP Executive Director Andersen

EU Statement - Briefing by UNEP Executive Director Andersen

23 March 2026, New York - Statement by the European Union and its Member States delivered by Roderick Harte, First Secretary, European Union Delegation to the United Nations, at the Briefing by UNEP Executive Director Ms. Inger Andersen

Madam Executive Director, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am speaking on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

We would like to thank UNEP for organising this event and the Executive Director for your very useful briefing on the outcomes of UNEA-7 and environmental milestones in 2026. We would specifically like to express our sincere appreciation to the Executive Director for your leadership in steering UNEA-7 in a particularly challenging geopolitical context. We would also link to thank the Omani Presidency for its guidance and dedication in steering the Assembly to a positive outcome.

By agreeing on 11 resolutions, 8 decisions and a comprehensive ministerial declaration, the Assembly demonstrated its relevance of providing a platform where countries come together to deliver for the common good. We now enter the most important stage in the UNEA-cycle, namely the phase of implementation. Looking ahead, we would like to wish the Jamaican presidency of the eight session all the best in its preparations. You can count on our support and constructive engagement at UNEA-8.

Excellencies,

UNEA-7 was not an easy meeting. Yet, despite well-known headwinds, it ultimately showed that multilateral environmental governance is still functioning and still able to deliver meaningful outcomes. If we remain engaged and work to bridge gaps, the UN can continue to provide a platform on which Member States identify common ground and move forward together.

At the same time, we must safeguard science-based policymaking. Without this, multilateralism cannot remain either effective or credible. This can be challenging. Recent examples include the difficult discussions on the endorsement of the seventh edition of the Global Environment Outlook report at UNEA-7, and the suspended first plenary of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution last month.

The European Union and its Member States remain firmly committed to strong and effective multilateralism, rooted in science. In this regard, we will continue to strongly support UNEP's work on the scientific assessment of the environment. We will also continue to strongly support the ongoing work on a Plastics Treaty.

Excellencies,

We support the UN80 initiative as an opportunity for the UN to become more effective and efficient, while preserving and reinforcing its core mandates. We support a strong role for UNEP on environmental issues within the UN system without creating a thematic silo. In particular, we need to consider how UNEP's work, as well as UNEA decisions, can be taken forward more effectively in other UN bodies, notably here in New York in the General Assembly. We also need to consider how UNEP's normative role can be strengthened to improve global environmental policies and standards.

The European Union and its Member States stand ready to contribute to this process.

I thank you.