The United Nations Environment Assembly, 

Recalling decision SS.XII/3 of 22 February 2012 of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme on international environmental governance, 

Recalling also General Assembly resolution 73/333 of 30 August 2019, 

Reaffirming the independent and autonomous nature of multilateral environmental agreements and emphasizing the need to respect their individual mandates, 

Reaffirming also the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development1 and all its principles, Recalling General Assembly resolution 70/1 of 25 September 2015, entitled “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, 

Recalling also United Nations Environment Assembly resolution 2/5 of 27 May 2016 on delivering on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in which the Environment Assembly committed to contributing to the effective implementation of the environmental dimension of the 2030 Agenda in an integrated manner, through setting the global environmental agenda, providing overarching policy guidance and defining policy responses to address emerging environmental challenges, undertaking policy review, dialogue and exchange of experiences, and fostering partnerships for achieving environmental goals and resource mobilization, 

Recalling further paragraph 88 of the outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 20 to 22 June 2012, entitled “The future we want”,2 in which leaders committed to strengthening the role of the United Nations Environment Programme as the leading global environmental authority setting the global environmental agenda, promoting the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system, and serving as an authoritative advocate for the global environment, 

Recalling paragraph 89 of the outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, entitled “The future we want”, in which leaders recognized the significant contributions to sustainable development made by the multilateral environmental agreements and encouraged parties to multilateral environmental agreements to consider further measures, as appropriate, to promote policy coherence at all relevant levels, improve efficiency, reduce unnecessary overlap and duplication, and enhance coordination and cooperation among the multilateral environmental agreements, including the three Rio conventions, as well as with the United Nations system in the field, 

Recognizing the opportunities for promoting synergies, cooperation and/or collaboration, as appropriate, in the implementation of multilateral environmental agreements at the national level, 

Noting General Assembly resolution 76/300 of 28 July 2022 on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, 

Recognizing the need to strengthen international cooperation towards the environmental dimension of sustainable development, 

1. Requests the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, subject to the availability of resources, without prejudice to the specific objectives of relevant multilateral environmental agreements, recognizing their respective mandates, and in accordance with the relevant decisions of the governing bodies of the multilateral environmental agreements and in cooperation with the respective multilateral environmental agreement secretariats, to: 

(a) Strengthen and promote the capacity-building initiatives of the United Nations Environment Programme to facilitate coherent and effective implementation of multilateral environmental agreements at the regional and national levels on a Member State–driven basis, including through the Fifth Montevideo Programme for the Development and Periodic Review of Environmental Law and through United Nations Environment Programme regional offices, regional centres of multilateral environmental agreements and United Nations regional commissions; 

(b) Develop an analysis of case studies, success stories and lessons learned from cooperation, collaboration and complementarities at the national level in the implementation of multilateral environmental agreements; 

(c) Strengthen cooperation between the United Nations Environment Programme and United Nations country teams, and encourage the latter to mainstream the objectives of multilateral environmental agreements into their work; 

(d) Enhance cooperation with Member States, on request, in identifying opportunities for collaboration in implementing reporting processes under the multilateral environmental agreements; 

(e) Mobilize resources to implement the present resolution; 

2.  Encourages Member States to:

(a) Promote synergies, cooperation and/or collaboration, as appropriate, in the implementation of multilateral environmental agreements, without prejudice to their specific objectives, and observing their independent and autonomous nature, including through the establishment of coordinated and cooperative approaches, structured communication channels and the convening of national focal points of various multilateral environmental agreements; 

(b) Identify in their voluntary national reviews to the high-level political forum on sustainable development, where applicable, the contributions of multilateral environmental agreements to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; 

(c) Identify, with relevant stakeholders, approaches for strengthening cooperation in the implementation of multilateral environmental agreements; 

3. Requests the Executive Director to report to the United Nations Environment Assembly at its seventh session on progress made with regard to the contribution of the United Nations Environment Programme to the implementation of multilateral environmental agreements at the national level, as well as to the implementation of the present resolution