Keynote by the President of the UN Environment Assembly (HLPF)
Tuesday, 14 July 2020
3:00 PM - 3:15 PM
Virtually (held New York time)
Official meeting
The UN Environment Assembly contributes to the full integration and effective implementation of the environmental dimension of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, acknowledging that a healthy environment is an essential requirement and key enabler for sustainable development. In his allocution, the President of the UN Environment Assembly, H.E. Mr. Sveinung Rotevatn, Minister of Environment and Climate of Norway, will convey the main messages of the UN Environment Assembly and present the contributions of the Assembly to the debates of the HLPF.
The fifth UN Environment Assembly will take place in February 2021 in Nairobi.
Chair:
• H.E. Ms. Mona Juul, President of Economic and Social Council
Keynote speaker:
- H.E. Mr. Sveinung Rotevatn, President of the fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly, Minister of Climate and Environment of Norway
Followed by H.E. Mr. Trevor Prescod, President of the Latin America and Caribbean Forum of Ministers and Minister of Environment and National Beautification of Barbados, on messages from the region.
H.E. Mr. Sveinung Rotevatn
President of the fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly, Minister of Climate and Environment of Norway
Sveinung Rotevatn (born 15 May 1987) serves as Minister of Climate and the Environment since January 2020. Mr. Rotevatn comes from Nordfjordeid, Sogn og Fjordane, and has a master's degree in law from the University of Bergen. Prior to his appointed as Minister he served as a state secretary at the same department from 2018 to 2020.
Mr.Rotevatn became the president of the Young Liberals of Norway, the Liberal Party's youth wing, in 2010, and was succeeded in October 2013 by Tord Hustveit.
He was elected MP from the Sogn og Fjordane county constituency in the 2013 Norwegian parliamentary election, and later appointed State Secretary to the Department of Justice and Public Security on 17 January 2018.
H.E. Ms. Mona Juul
Seventy-fifth President of the Economic and Social Council
Her Excellency Mona Juul was elected seventy-fifth President of the Economic and Social Council on 25 July 2019. Ambassador Juul is currently the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Norway to the United Nations in New York.
Ambassador Mona Juul was previously Ambassador to the United Kingdom (2014-2018), Director General for Security Policy and the High North in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2011-2014), Ambassador/Deputy Permanent Representative at the Permanent Mission to the UN in New York (2005-2010) and Chair of the 1st Committee of the 61 session of the United Nations General Assembly (2006).
She served as Ambassador to Israel (2001-2005), accredited to Cyprus for the same period. State Secretary/Deputy Foreign Minister at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2000), Special Advisor/Ambassador/Middle East Coordinator in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1997-2000) chairing the AHLC (Ad Hoc Liaison Committee on Assistance to the Palestinians). She was Minister Counsellor at the Norwegian Embassy in Tel Aviv (1994-1997). Her first posting was at the Norwegian Embassy in Cairo (1988-1990).
Mona has been with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1986, during which time she has gained broad diplomatic experience. This includes working in the Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs (1992-1993) and member of the small Norwegian team that facilitated the secret negotiations between Israel and the PLO leading to the Oslo Agreement.
She holds a master’s degree in political science from the University of Oslo.
Ambassador Juul was born 10 April 1959 and is married to Mr. Terje Rød-Larsen. They have two children.
