Tiilikainen named EU candidate to UNEA Bureau

Finnish Minister of the Environment, Energy and Housing Kimmo Tiilikainen has been nominated as the candidate of the EU and other western countries to the Bureau of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA), said an official press release.

The bureau, composed of 10 environment ministers, is responsible for matters of high policy relevance, including the themes to be addressed by the UNEA and cooperation between the UN Environment Programme (UN Environment) and the UN General Assembly.

The term of the bureau spans to the fourth Environment Assembly to be held in the early spring 2019.

“I am delighted and honoured by the trust placed in me. I see the candidacy as recognition of our long-term efforts to integrate the environmental issues to the international policy agenda. The aim for Finland is to build the UN Environment Programme into an equal player with the other key UN bodies,” Tiilikainen said.

The third UN Environment Assembly (UNEA3) will start in Nairobi on December 4, Monday. The overarching theme of the assembly is pollution. The assembly is expected to agree on resolutions related to topics such as air pollution, marine plastic waste and environmental health. The new bureau will be elected on the last day of the meeting on December 6.