A briefing has been held for national officials and stakeholders ahead of a major European conference addressing the transition to a green economy and air quality.

The Eighth Environment for Europe (EfE) Ministerial Conference will be held from 8 to 10 June 2016 in Batumi, Georgia and is expected to be attended by a score of ministers or deputy ministers of the environment from the pan-European region. UNEP delegation will be led by the Deputy Executive Director Ibrahim Thiaw.

At the event, which is expected to be attended by around 900 participants from 56 countries, states are expected to agree on a strategic framework on the transition to a green economy and an action plan on clean air.

A high level segment will also be held at the conference on education for sustainable development, with a view to assessing the progress during the first 10 years of the UN Economic Commission for Europe’s Strategy of Education for Sustainable Development.

Apart from co-leading on one of the two main conference topics, green economy, UNEP is involved in five side events during the conference, including one on sustainable development and moves towards a Green Economy in Central Asia. The sixth edition of UNEP’s flagship Global Environment Outlook will also be launched. UNEP will also have a joint exhibition space with the European Environment Agency and UNECE.

EfE will furthermore include a workshop on the green economy transition held under the framework of the European Union’s Greening Economies in the Eastern Partnership (EaP GREEN) project.

The briefing was organized by the Geneva Environment Network in the International Environment House II on Monday 2 May.

For more information on EfE please click here or write to isabelle.valentiny@unep.org to learn more about the workshop being organised for journalists from the six Eastern Partnership states.