The first-ever U.N. Environmental Assembly opened Monday in Nairobi, Kenya, where more than 150 high-level delegations are addressing environmental-sustainability challenges.
Sanjaasuren Oyun, the environment minister in Mongolia and the president of the U.N. assembly, told the opening session that a shift toward more environmentally sound policies is a prerequisite for sustainable development.
Achim Steiner, the chief of the U.N. Environment Program, said the world's changing environment - including global warming, pollution, and land degradation - shows that the global economy must be reinvented or progress will suffer.
Steiner said world leaders recognize that global environmental cooperation must be achieved because the environment is directly linked to economic and societal issues.