Jamaica’s Minister of Water, Environment, and Climate Change, Matthew Samuda, has been elected as the new president of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA), indicating that environmental matters are no longer an ‘isolated’ agenda item.
‘The critical role of UNEA as the critical decision making body for matters relating to the environment should not be lost on any of us. This is a platform that engenders collaboration, coordination and partnership between and among governments and major groups, ‘ Samuda said, praising the tenure of his predecessor, Abdullah Bin Ali Al-Amri of Oman.
Samuda, sole nominee for the position had the formal endorsement of the Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC) and was elected by acclimation to the world’s highest-level decision-making body on environmental matters, with a membership of all 193 UN member states.
Established in 2012, UNEA meets every two years, focusing on urgent challenges like pollution, biodiversity loss, climate change, and sustainable solutions, with its seventh session (UNEA-7) ending here on Friday.
Samuda said he is honoured and grateful for the trust placed in him by electing him president of the UNEA-8 meeting extending his ‘heartful thanks for the vote of confidence, and I accept this responsibility with humility, determination and a clear sense of purpose.