Statement by Dr Grethel Aguilar, Director General 

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

Chair, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates,

UNEA-7 convenes at a pivotal moment. The triple planetary crisis—climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution—demands urgent, integrated, and inclusive action. The Assembly takes place just a few weeks after the IUCN World Conservation Congress convened in Abu Dhabi, gathering over 10,000 participants from more than 189 countries. 

With five years remaining to 2030 the IUCN Congress called on the world to significantly increase ambition and collective action to scale up and implement transformative and collaborative solutions that address the needs of both nature and people. 

In particular, it emphasised the importance of seizing the current momentum to enhance synergies in the actions we undertake to implement the key multilateral environmental agreements and secure ambitious actions for a net-zero, resilient, and nature-positive future.

We need a transformative and radical change in thinking, and joint, collective and effective multilateral action, ensuring that all sectors of society – Indigenous Peoples organisations, local communities, private sector, and non-governmental organisations – are involved and strategically aligned to promote cooperation globally and regionally.

International environmental and economic governance systems need to be transformed to become nature-positive, starting with the repurposing of environmentally harmful subsidies.

At this UNEA we hope to see decisive action to advance negotiations on a global plastics treaty as well as political commitments to build momentum towards the 2026 UN Water Conference. The conference has to deliver a transformative change for global water governance – an agreement on how we collectively will manage this resource which all life depends on. 

All of this will be especially challenging in a moment of growing conflicts, mounting geopolitical tensions, and heightened strains on multilateralism. However, we have no choice but to rise to the occasion to secure a liveable planet for future generations. 

IUCN stands ready to support Member States with science-based knowledge, policy tools, and capacity-building to translate ambition into action. Together, we can build a just world that values and conserves nature.

Thank you.