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

This briefing by the South African Institute of International Affairs outlines the objectives and expected outcomes of the 4th Session of the UN Environmental Assembly (UNEA-4). The session focuses on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12, aiming to address unsustainable consumption and production patterns to support the UN 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development.

• The overarching theme of UNEA-4 is 'Innovative Solutions to the Environmental Challenges and Sustainable Consumption and Production,' which specifically targets Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12 to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns on a global scale.
• The Global Major Groups and Stakeholders Forum (GMGSF), which includes the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), has identified three priority areas for the assembly: managing natural resources and environmental challenges linked to poverty (including food security and biodiversity loss), implementing life-cycle approaches for waste, chemicals, energy, and resource efficiency, and promoting sustainable business development during rapid technological shifts.
• The assembly will be informed by the 6th Global Environmental Outlook report (GEO-6), titled 'Healthy Planet, Healthy People,' which provides a scientific review of the links between human health and the environment, specifically focusing on waste, food, and energy.
• UNEA-4 will showcase specific innovative projects, including the Flipflopi Dhow—a fishing vessel made from 7 tons of plastic waste from Lamu, Kenya—and South African developments such as the ENCORE guide for bank environmental risk assessment and anti-poaching GPS trackers used in Mozambique, Zambia, and Kenya.

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} }