Celebrating 50 years of landmark environment conference, Stockholm+50 calls for just transition to a sustainable economy

Last week, Sweden and Kenya co-hosted the landmark Stockholm+50 conference as part of the United Nations' collaborative path toward a healthy planet. The event aimed to provide a chance to reflect on, celebrate, and build on the last 50 years of environmental activism.
In 1972, as many as 113 countries came together for the Stockholm conference, which was the world’s first such event to place environmental issues at the forefront of international concern. June 5 marked the completion of 50 years since the landmark summit, which is now celebrated as World Environment Day.
Call for environmental and economic transformation
The two-day international meeting — Stockholm+50 — concluded on June 3 this year with a call for urgent commitment to addressing global environmental concerns and a just transition to a sustainable economy.
The conference provided a platform for world leaders to adopt revolutionary steps to reshape humanity's connection with the environment. The global summit urged nations to take progressive steps in finance, technology, and a sustainable lifestyle.
"We came to Stockholm 50 years after the UN Conference on the Human Environment knowing that something must change. Knowing that if we do not change, the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste will only accelerate," said Inger Andersen, Secretary-General of Stockholm+50 and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme.
With the theme "a healthy planet for the prosperity of all – our responsibility, our opportunity", the conference commemorated the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, which ushered in a new age of global collaboration for environmental protection.
A platform for international collaboration
The conference aimed to provide a platform for the nations and stakeholders to engage, share expertise, and solve complex and sensitive issues for immediate action that will result in long-term system transformation.
Stockholm+50 will assist in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals to create a healthy and resilient planet. The summit considered the necessity of a multi-actor, multi-sector approach to solving environmental concerns and representing the value of collaborative action by bringing together a diverse collection of stakeholders worldwide. The focus will be to emphasise the intergenerational obligation to maintain the Earth and guarantee a life-sustaining system that will be accessible to all.
The 1972 conference concluded that the world is encountering a planetary catastrophe due to the consequence of pollution and waste, loss of environment and biodiversity, and other planetary evils that are harming present and future wealth and welfare. And similar issues plague the planet even after the span of fifty years.
"Now we must take forward this energy, this commitment to action to shape our world,” added Inger Andersen.