Think Beyond, Live Within: What to Expect from 4th Session of UN Environmental Assembly

The 4th session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-4) focuses on 'Innovative Solutions to the Environmental Challenges and Sustainable Consumption and Production' to advance Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12. The assembly integrates input from the Global Major Groups and Stakeholders Forum (GMGSF), including the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), and technical data from the 6th Global Environmental Outlook (GEO-6) report. Key highlights include the exhibition of innovative projects such as the Flipflopi Dhow, a vessel made from waste plastic, and South African environmental risk and anti-poaching technologies.

• The overarching theme of UNEA-4 is 'Innovative Solutions to the Environmental Challenges and Sustainable Consumption and Production,' which is designed to address Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12 regarding global consumption and production patterns.
• The Global Major Groups and Stakeholders Forum (GMGSF), including the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), identified three priority areas for the assembly: managing natural resources and poverty (including food security and biodiversity loss), implementing life-cycle approaches to waste, energy, chemicals, and resource efficiency, and promoting sustainable business development during technological change.
• The assembly will be informed by the 6th Global Environmental Outlook (GEO-6) report, titled ‘Healthy Planet, Healthy People,’ which provides scientific research on the links between human health and the environment, specifically focusing on waste, food, and energy.
• The event will showcase specific innovative projects, including the Flipflopi Dhow—a fishing vessel built from 7 tons of plastic waste from Lamu, Kenya—and the UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion.
• South African contributions to UNEA-4 include the ENCORE guide for banks to evaluate environmental risk and anti-poaching GPS trackers developed by Dimension Data and Connect Conservation, which have been used in Zambia, Kenya, Mozambique, and near Kruger National Park.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2019). Think Beyond, Live Within: What to Expect from 4th Session of UN Environmental Assembly. https://saiia.org.za/research/think-beyond-live-within-what-to-expect-from-4th-session-of-un-environmental-assembly/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Think Beyond, Live Within: What to Expect from 4th Session of UN Environmental Assembly. 2019. https://saiia.org.za/research/think-beyond-live-within-what-to-expect-from-4th-session-of-un-environmental-assembly/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Think Beyond, Live Within: What to Expect from 4th Session of UN Environmental Assembly |date=12 March 2019 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/think-beyond-live-within-what-to-expect-from-4th-session-of-un-environmental-assembly/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2019think, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Think Beyond, Live Within: What to Expect from 4th Session of UN Environmental Assembly}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2019}, month = mar, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/think-beyond-live-within-what-to-expect-from-4th-session-of-un-environmental-assembly/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }