The inputs build on submissions in writing from several Member States submitted to the secretariat in February and March 2021, as well as the report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) entitled "Working with the environment to protect people: COVID-19 Response” and other relevant documents issued by the UNEP secretariat, including the Medium Term Strategy for UNEP 2022-2025 entitled “For people and planet: the United Nations Environment Programme strategy for 2022–2025 to tackle climate change, loss of nature and pollution” (UNEP/EA.5/3/Rev.1).

(a) Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the implementation of the SDGs under review in the 2021 HLPF from the vantage point of your intergovernmental body, bearing in mind the interlinkages with other SDGs;

The United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) is instrumental in providing guidance to promote that the environmental dimension of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is incorporated into recovery efforts, bearing in mind the integrated nature of the UN 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development. The COVID-19 pandemic is more than a health crisis: it is also a humanitarian and socioeconomic crisis. It has exposed and aggravated vulnerabilities and inequalities and it is exacerbating already existing challenges in meeting the SDGs worldwide. COVID-19 is also a reminder of the inextricable relationship between humans and the environment. The transmission pathways of zoonotic diseases highlight the extent of pressures humans have placed on the natural world. Hence, the COVID-19 pandemic is a compelling reminder that addressing the environmental crises should be fully compatible with efforts to eradicating poverty and creating adequate incentives for sustainable livelihoods in line with the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. Information on impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the implementation of the SDGs under review in the 2021 High Level Political Forum (HLPF) from the vantage point of the environmental dimension of Sustainable Development, bearing in mind the interlinkages with other Sustainable Development Goals, is presented in Annex 1.

(b) Actions, policy guidance, progress, challenges and areas requiring urgent attention in relation to the SDGs and to the theme within the area under the purview of your intergovernmental body;

A healthy planet is an essential requirement and key enabler for sustainable development in which economic, social and environmental objectives are addressed in a balanced manner through an integrated approach. A vision for planetary sustainability for people, prosperity and equity requires addressing our common environmental challenges – climate change, pollution and nature loss – through action in three interlinked and mutually reinforcing strategic objectives: climate stability, living in harmony with nature and achieving a pollution-free planet. These objectives should be pursued within the overall objective of sustainable development and in accordance with the Rio Principles and can be achieved by working towards the following outcomes:

1. By significantly accelerating efforts by all Parties to achieve greenhouse gas emission reductions, adopt resilient pathways, and by significantly increasing capacity, finance and access to technologies in particular for developing countries, to deliver on the adaptations and mitigation goals of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement and by implementing the enhanced transparency framework arrangements under the Paris Agreement;
   
2. By establishing an economically and socially sustainable pathway for halting and reversing the loss of biodiversity and enhancing ecosystem integrity, promoting the sustainable use of natural resources through ecosystem-based approaches, including nature-based solutions, and increasing the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources;
   
3. By enhancing the capacity and leadership in achieving sound management of chemicals and waste; by improving waste management through sustainable consumption and production including but not limited to circular economy and other sustainable economic models; and by reducing the release of pollutants into air, water, soil and the ocean.
   
4. By stressing the United Nations Environment Assembly´s role in promoting the implementation of internationally agreed environmental goals and commitments, in the context of the 2030 Agenda and in accordance with the Rio Principles, as well as in promoting an effective global governance system informed by an open and inclusive environmental multilateralism.
   
5. By reiterating that the availability and accessibility of adequate, predictable and sustainable resource mobilization from all sources, technology development, dissemination, diffusion and transfer on mutually agreed terms and capacity-building are important for unlocking practical, affordable and innovative environmental solutions, as recognized in paragraph 7 of UNEA resolution 3/5 entitled “Investing in innovative environmental solutions for accelerating the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals”.
   
6. By supporting the “One Health” approach, as recognized in paragraphs 24 and 33 of UNEA resolution 3/4 entitled “Environment and Health” .
   
7. By supporting an ambitious and realistic post-2020 global biodiversity framework for adoption at the 15th Conference of Parties of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity as a key element in achieving the SDGs.