Vice President Nangolo Mbumba has called on member countries and stakeholders to renew their commitment to the Stockholm Declaration of 1972 to promote and strengthen cooperation and enhance the implementation of multilateral decisions.
The Stockholm Declaration placed environmental issues at the forefront of international concerns and marked the start of a dialogue between industrialised and developing countries on the link between economic growth, the pollution of the air, water, and oceans and the well-being of people around the world.
Mbumba, who made the remarks on Thursday during the Stockholm+50 Conference taking place in Stockholm, Sweden, said countries should also promote solidarity as a global family to achieve their common goals.
“Our focus must be to foster a culture of taking collective responsibility for the wellbeing of the planet premised on true equality. Such commitments will prevent escalation in misery in the life of the planet and its inhabitants and will improve prospects for us and future generations for peaceful, healthy and prosperous co-habitation,” he said in his statement provided to Nampa.
The international environmental meeting takes place from 02 until 03 June 2022, coinciding with the week of World Environment Day.
The conference’s theme is ‘A Healthy Planet for the Prosperity of All – Our Responsibility, Our Opportunity’, and it is taking place five decades after the 1972?United Nations Conference on the Human Environment.
The aim of the conference is to contribute to accelerating a transformation that leads to sustainable and green economies, more jobs, and a healthy planet for all, where no one is left behind.
According to Mbumba, the planet faces devastating impacts of more frequent and severe droughts, floods, bush fires, sea-level rise, desertification, land and soil degradation, heat waves, food and water insecurity and many more existential challenges.
“Unless all these challenges are dealt with seriously, the drive to realise Agenda 2030 and achieve the sustainable development goals to deliver prosperity for all, is impossible.
Not only does the world face climate change, but also unacceptable levels of inequality and poverty and there should be no doubt that we have fallen short and that the current state of affairs is dire.”
Mbumba reiterated Namibia’s support of the multilateral approach to solving global problems as it is part to numerous environmental conventions and protocols.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
