Negotiations through the Eyes of Experts: UNEA‑7

On 8-12 December 2025, the seventh session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA‑7) was held in Nairobi, Kenya. Representatives of more than 170 States took part in UNEA‑7, as well as international intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations accredited with UNEP (including the International and Comparative Law Research Center) and 30 secretariats of multilateral environmental agreements.

We present the perspective of Alexey Nikitin, ICLRC researcher on Public International Law at Climate and Environment, and Alexander Solntsev, ICLRC expert, on the course of the negotiations and an overview of the decisions adopted (and not adopted) at the session, including the ministerial declaration and eleven adopted resolutions, as well as the seventh edition of the main global environmental assessment — the Global Environment Outlook.

Work at UNEA‑7 was organized around four clusters in which 15 draft resolutions (4 of them later withdrawn) and a number of organizational decisions were considered:

• nature and climate: wildfires; sargassum seaweed blooms; deep-sea ecosystems; resilience of coral reefs; glaciers and the cryosphere; karst ecosystems;
• governance and law: AI; youth participation; sport and planetary sustainability; environmental crimes; synergies among multilateral environmental agreements and their implementation;
• circular economy, chemicals, waste and pollution: antimicrobial resistance; minerals and metals; chemicals and waste;
• strategic, budgetary and governance issues: strengthening UNEP; funds and contributions; the 2026–2029 strategy, programme of work and budget for 2026–2027; and the road to UNEA‑8.
  

The Miseries and Splendord of the Multilateral Process

UNEA‑7 concluded with only 11 resolutions — the smallest number since 2017, when the Assembly held its third session. But even if one focuses not on the quantity but on the quality of the final documents — as the more optimistic participants repeatedly urged — UNEA‑7 is still difficult to call a breakthrough.

Only three resolutions stand out for their thematic novelty — on sport, artificial intelligence, and antimicrobial resistance — and even these do not contain particularly far‑reaching findings or ambitious proposals. The other resolutions mainly confine themselves to reaffirming the importance of the respective issues, calling for participation in existing international initiatives and/or “taking measures” at the national level, usually of a rather vague nature and content. Some of them nevertheless give cautious hope for more meaningful progress in the future, as they mandate the preparation of a report or the convening of a high‑level meeting. At the same time, on a number of issues we are seeing more of a rollback: formulations that had been agreed multilaterally only a few years ago are now facing rejection by some States and so are being removed from the text.

The relative weakness of the outcome of UNEA‑7 is attributable to a number of factors. In particular, negotiations are complicated by the lack of sufficient international support for developing countries; with the arrival of the new administration in the United States, this situation has only worsened. These States often block calls for the adoption of concrete national measures when they believe they cannot implement them without international support. In addition, many States are reluctant to allow UNEP/UNEA to assume a coordinating role in some environmental issues that are already partly within the remit of other bodies (for example, the conservation of deep‑sea ecosystems), although such coordination is largely the very raison d’être of UNEP/UNEA. The continuing geopolitical tensions likewise do not make it easier for the Assembly to fulfil its mandate.

Yet, for the most part, UNEA participants continue to believe in the multilateral process. Although the United States sharply criticized UNEP/UNEA for inefficiency and exceeding its mandate — in particular with respect to work on climate, which the United States branded “climate change theater” — this radical position found no support. Therefore, the multilateral process will remain in demand, and UNEA (or a similar platform) will remain indispensable.

The Ministerial Declaration

Resolution on Antimicrobial Resistance

The resolution recognizes that antimicrobial resistance has an environmental dimension. It requests the UNEP Executive Director to contribute to the work of the Global Integrated System for Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance and Use (GISSA). It also calls on States to take measures to address antimicrobial resistance and to raise awareness of its environmental aspects.

This is the first UNEA resolution devoted entirely to this topic, although it had already been mentioned in passing in UNEA-3 resolution “Environment and Health” adopted in 2017. The inclusion of this item on the Assembly’s agenda is largely the result of increased attention to antimicrobial resistance on the part of the international community in recent years.

Resolution on Environmental Aspects of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

This resolution became one of the most significant outcomes of UNEA‑7. As in a number of other areas, UNEA has taken up the topic of AI from the UN General Assembly, which in 2024 adopted a framework for digital cooperation and the governance of artificial intelligence.

For the first time at the global level, the resolution proclaims the need to minimize the environmental footprint of AI systems while at the same time leveraging all opportunities to use AI for environmental protection purposes. Among other things, it calls for support to be provided to developing countries in developing and deploying AI systems for environmental objectives, and requests the UNEP Executive Director to facilitate the exchange of knowledge among countries on the sustainability of AI systems, as well as to examine the benefits and risks of AI for the environment and prepare a dedicated thematic report. This report is expected to serve as the basis for further action at UNEA concerning the environmental dimension of AI.

Resolution on Sport

The topic of sport in the context of sustainable development appeared on UNEA’s agenda for the first time, although it had previously been addressed in the work of the UN General Assembly.

The resolution calls on States to consider integrating sustainability issues into national sports development strategies and physical education curricula. It also calls for measures to minimize the environmental footprint of sport and maximize its positive impact, including in the context of sport events, sports infrastructure and waste management. The UNEP Executive Director is requested to update UNEP’s long‑term strategy on sport and the environment, originally adopted in 2003.

Resolution on Coral Reefs

The resolution aims to step up action to enhance the resilience of coral reefs to climate change and other threats. It recognizes the environmental, economic and social importance of coral reefs, which provide habitat for a quarter of the world’s marine biodiversity, support the livelihoods of more than one billion people and deliver ecosystem services worth almost 10 billion US dollars annually.

Among other things, the resolution calls on States to integrate the conservation and sustainable use of coral reefs into national planning and mandates the UNEP Executive Director to develop guidance to this effect. It also calls on States to provide data for coral reef monitoring and financial resources for the conservation and sustainable use of coral reefs.

The topic of coral reefs is not new: the UN General Assembly and UNEA have already adopted resolutions on this issue (in 2010, 2016, and 2019). In addition, a number of international initiatives (including a dedicated fund) are already in place to promote the conservation and sustainable use of coral reefs. The adoption of this resolution reflects the international community’s strong focus on these ecosystems in view of their particular importance. 

Resolution on Responding to the Influx of sargassum seaweed blooms

The resolution seeks to strengthen global responses to the large‑scale influxes of blooming sargassum, which are recognized as a serious and growing socio‑economic and environmental problem, primarily for the Wider Caribbean Region and West Africa. It acknowledges the negative impacts of these events on human health, marine biodiversity, coastal ecosystems, tourism, fisheries, livelihoods and economic development, as well as the significant deficit in financing and coordination. The resolution calls on States to recognize the problem and enhance cooperation in monitoring and utilizing sargassum. It also requests the UNEP Executive Director to prepare a report on measures taken to address this problem and to convene a high‑level meeting to discuss it.

UNEP has already addressed this issue in its 2021 report, and the resolution is the culmination of many years of efforts by affected countries to secure recognition of the problem at a high political level.

Resolution on Wildfires

The resolution is devoted to strengthening responses to wildland and landscape fires in the context of their increasing frequency, intensity and scale due to climate change and ecosystem degradation. It emphasizes that, although fire is a natural element of some ecosystems, forest and landscape fires cause serious damage to biodiversity, human and animal health and livelihoods, and lead to greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. The resolution calls on States to promote sustainable forest management and ecosystem‑based approaches, including by building on the “Integrated Fire Management Voluntary Guidelines”; to strengthen national and regional wildfire management strategies; to expand international and regional cooperation; and to integrate comprehensive fire management into national planning. The UNEP Executive Director is requested to support the work of the Global Fire Management Hub, assist countries in developing action plans and facilitate access to international financing.

This topic is new for UNEA; however, much work has already been done in this area by the UN General Assembly, which in 2017 adopted the “United Nations Strategic Plan for Forests 2017–2030”, by UNEP and FAO in their efforts to establish the Global Fire Management Hub, and by the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC. The resolution systematizes these developments and translates them into a practical agenda for comprehensive, preventive and coordinated wildfire response.

Resolution on Glaciers and the Cryosphere

The resolution focuses on the conservation of glaciers and the cryosphere as a whole, with particular emphasis on mountain regions. It highlights the close interlinkages between the loss of glaciers and the cryosphere and climate change, biodiversity loss, desertification, sea‑level rise and increasing disaster risks. The resolution calls for urgent measures to conserve glaciers and the cryosphere, including the adoption of legislation and the implementation of obligations under relevant multilateral environmental agreements (primarily in the fields of climate and biodiversity); encourages international cooperation and the mobilization of financing, especially for the benefit of developing countries and mountain communities; and stresses the important role of indigenous peoples, local communities and other stakeholders, and the need to take their traditional knowledge into account and ensure their participation. The UNEP Executive Director is requested to take glacier and cryosphere loss into account in UNEP’s scientific assessments, to facilitate exchanges of knowledge among countries and to prepare a report on gaps and needs in this area.

This topic is new for UNEA, although it has already been addressed in UN General Assembly resolutions that proclaimed 2025 the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation, established the World Glaciers Day (21 March) and, in the previous year, declared the period 2025–2034 the Decade of Actions for Cryosphere Sciences. The UNEA resolution brings together and builds on these initiatives, strengthening the environmental, scientific and socio‑economic focus on the problem of glacier and cryosphere loss.

Resolution on Youth

The resolution calls on States to create opportunities for the full participation of young people in the environmental agenda and to integrate environmental education and literacy into their education systems. It also requests the UNEP Executive Director to facilitate applications from young candidates for positions in the UNEP Secretariat. The resolution recognizes the Youth Environment Assembly as the main platform for youth participation in UNEA’s work.

This is the first UNEA resolution on this topic, although the process of involving youth (along with other stakeholder groups) in UNEP’s work has been under way for decades. Nevertheless, this process is not without controversy: some States advocate giving youth a greater role in decision‑making on environmental issues, while for others this is a “red line” in light of practical and legal considerations (lack of experience, age, etc.).

Resolution on the Interaction of Multilateral Environmental Agreements

The problem of the coexistence of a multitude of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) addressing largely overlapping issues is not new. Since 2013, joint meetings of the governing bodies of the three “chemicals conventions” — the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm conventions — have been held to improve the effectiveness of their interaction. Since 2019, the so‑called Bern Process has been underway to strengthen cooperation among biodiversity‑related conventions. UNEA‑6 also adopted Resolution 6/4 on this subject.

The UNEA‑7 resolution calls on States to continue strengthening cooperation in the implementation of MEAs and to explore different ways of doing so. It also requests the UNEP Executive Director to support States in this work, including with respect to the preparation of national reporting under the relevant MEAs, and to provide support for the Bern Process. In addition, it calls for enhancing the value of the “MEAs Day”, held on the margins of UNEA‑7 in accordance with Resolution 6/4, as a forum for exchanging experience in this area.

Resolution on Sound Management of Chemicals and Waste

The sound management of chemicals and waste is a standing item on UNEA’s agenda: a resolution on this issue has been adopted at every previous session of the Assembly.

In line with established practice, this year’s resolution notes that progress in ensuring the sound management of chemicals and waste remains insufficient and that more active measures are needed. It also welcomes the establishment of the Intergovernmental Science‑Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution (ISP‑CWP). This body has been created along the lines of the two existing intergovernmenal expert bodies For more information on the work of international expert organizations dealing with environmental issues, see the ICLRC’s review https://iclrc.ru/en/publications/105  in the fields of climate change (IPCC) and biodiversity (IPBES); its first session will be held in February 2026 in Geneva, Switzerland.

This year’s resolution places particular emphasis on problems related to lead, cadmium, arsenic and organotin compounds, as identified in a UNEP thematic report released ahead of UNEA‑7. Among other things, it requests the UNEP Executive Director to assist countries in identifying priority measures with respect to these substances and to facilitate the exchange of information and best practices, and calls on States to join existing bodies and initiatives in the field of chemicals and waste management.

Resolution on the Management of Minerals and Metals

The resolution underscores the need to strengthen cooperation on the environmentally sound management of minerals and metals. This year it provides for intergovernmental “dialogues” on ways to enhance such cooperation; on resource recovery from waste and mining tailings; on best practices for the management of minerals and metals; and on expanding financial, technological and scientific capacities for such management, especially in developing countries.

The issue of the management of minerals and metals has become firmly entrenched on UNEA’s agenda, with resolutions on this topic adopted at four consecutive sessions. At the same time, some States are highly sensitive about discussing this issue at the multilateral level and resist turning it into a fully-fledged negotiating track. For this reason, the medium‑ and long‑term prospects for this agenda item at UNEA remain rather uncertain.

Withdrawn Resolutions

Drafts of four resolutions submitted for consideration at UNEA‑7 failed to receive sufficient support from States.

1. The draft resolution on the protection of deep‑sea ecosystems proved contentious because this issue falls within the remit of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the International Seabed Authority established under it.
2. The draft resolution on the protection of karst ecosystems was withdrawn by its author, Indonesia, largely due to the watering down of the text and the overlap of this issue with the mandate of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.
3. The draft resolution on crimes affecting the environment overlapped significantly with a parallel process under the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and, in the view of a number of States, effectively sought to define the elements of such crimes, which was considered to go beyond UNEP’s mandate.
4. The draft resolution on strengthening UNEP’s role failed to gain sufficient support in part because of disagreements over the proposed ways to do so, for example with respect to the relocation of MEAs secretariats to Nairobi.

Global Environment Outlook — 7 (GEO‑7)

On the margins of UNEA‑7, the seventh Global Environment Outlook report was presented, providing the most comprehensive overview to date of current global environmental problems and ways to address them. Its key message is that the problems of climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation and desertification, pollution and waste continue to worsen because the measures being taken are insufficient:

1. due to ongoing climate change, the crossing of “tipping points” in the coming decades — including the accelerated loss of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets and the collapse of coral reef ecosystems — is becoming increasingly likely;
2. approximately one million biological species out of an estimated total of eight million are at risk of extinction;
3. as of 2022, 20-40% of the Earth’s land surface was degraded;
4. the volume of solid waste generated annually exceeds 2 billion tonnes, and by 2050 this figure may increase to 3.8 billion tonnes.

At the same time, the report stresses that solving these problems is still possible, but will require transformational action at all levels of government and across society as a whole.

UNEA‑8

UNEA‑8 will be held under the presidency of Jamaica and will again take place in Nairobi in December 2027.