Advancing sustainable solutions for a resilient planet: Key takeaways from UNEA-7
by Julia Wente
As part of my 2025 Knauss Fellowship year with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Ecological Services Program, I had the opportunity to attend the seventh session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) in Nairobi, Kenya. UNEA is the world’s highest-level decision-making body on the environment, bringing together governments, civil society, scientists, and other stakeholders from around the globe. The theme for 2025, “Advancing sustainable solutions for a resilient planet,” centered on addressing the triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.
Over the course of two and a half weeks, environmental leaders from around the world convened to participate in a series of interconnected meetings, including the Youth Environment Assembly (YEA), the Open-Ended Committee of Permanent Representatives (OECPR-7), the 21st Global Major Groups and Stakeholders Forum, and UNEA-7 itself. Along with a few other fellows from my cohort, I had the privilege of attending all of these sessions as an observer.
Aside from memories of one informal Model United Nations experience in high school, I had very little idea of what to expect heading into UNEA-7. The Assembly was unlike any conference I had attended before, both in scale and intensity. The YEA, the smallest of the events, still drew more than 1,200 participants, and by the end of UNEA-7, over 6,000 people from 186 countries had taken part. Meetings ran all day, every day, from November 29 through December 12, 2025, creating an environment that was both energizing and exhausting.
In addition to attending countless presentation sessions and side events, I tried to sit in on as many resolution negotiation meetings as possible. During these sessions, UN Member States met for hours at a time to negotiate the precise language of draft resolutions proposed for adoption at UNEA-7. Edits ranged from cutting or rewriting entire paragraphs to adding or removing something as small as a comma. Because consensus among all Member States was required for any change, negotiations were painstakingly slow. Even with skilled moderators facilitating discussions, evening sessions often stretched past 11:00 p.m.
While the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) addressed a broad range of environmental issues beyond the ocean, there were several high-priority topics that the other fellows and I followed closely. One particularly exciting side event involved additional governments from tropical reef regions endorsing the Climate-Resilient Coral Reefs Commitment, which was first launched at the UN Ocean Conference in June 2025. We also attended the final negotiation session for a draft resolution on accelerating global action to promote climate resilience of coral reefs. After 11 days of negotiations, the final text was agreed upon at 11:30 p.m., prompting loud cheers (and quiet sighs of relief) from delegates across the room. Having followed these discussions since the start of OECPR-7, it was incredibly rewarding to witness the resolution’s adoption.
What made this experience especially meaningful for me was attending UNEA-7 as part of the Citizen Science Global Partnership delegation. After nearly eight years of advocating for community science through my academic and professional work, with programs like the Hawaiian Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary’s Ocean Count and the Montana Citizen Science Network, I was excited to help elevate the topic at the global policy level. Our delegation included 27 representatives from around the world, united by the goal of advancing community engagement as a critical tool for addressing global sustainability challenges. We worked to encourage the inclusion of the term ‘citizen science’ in the implementation plans of relevant draft resolutions by engaging with Member States, UN Major Groups, and other observers. We also had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Andrea Hinwood, UNEP chief scientist, and Astrid Schomaker, the executive secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, to discuss how communities could play a stronger role within UNEP and the Convention’s work in the years ahead. These conversations highlighted global issues of interest, like water and air quality, plastic pollution, and public health, some of which aligned closely with the Assembly’s draft resolutions.
Despite clear tensions in environmental diplomacy, UNEA-7 concluded with agreement on 11 resolutions, three decisions, and one ministerial declaration. The adopted resolutions addressed a wide range of issues, including coral reefs, Sargassum seaweed blooms, wildfires, glaciers and the broader cryosphere, artificial intelligence, youth participation, minerals and metals, antimicrobial resistance, and chemicals and waste. However, negotiators were unable to reach consensus on some important draft resolutions, including those related to deep-sea protections and environmental crime. More information on the adopted outcomes is available on UNEA’s official Outcome page.
While there were certainly moments of frustration, I left UNEA-7 feeling inspired and ready to take action. My key takeaway is that much of the real work happens between assemblies, and that sustained global public support is essential to turning resolutions into meaningful change. Get involved in your community, connect with decision-making bodies, seek out gaps in representation where your efforts can matter most, and continue advocating for the world you want to see.
About the author:
Julia Wente was a 2025 Knauss Marine Policy Fellow placed with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Ecological Services Program. She now works as a grants specialist and instructor at Montana State University and hopes to continue building bridges between science, education, and conservation through her work.