Nairobi, Feb 5 (IANS): The fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly will take place -- online for the first time -- on February 22 and 23, it was announced on Friday.

It is the highest-level meeting on the state of the environment since the UN Secretary General stated in December that making peace with nature would be the defining task of the 21st century.

The UN Environment Assembly meets biennially to set priorities for global environmental policies and develop international environmental law. Decisions and resolutions then taken by member states at the assembly define the programme of work of the UN Environment Programme.

Due to the pandemic, the member states agreed on a two-step approach to UNEA-5: an online session (February 22 and 23) will tackle urgent matters, including the approval of UNEP's new medium-term strategy, its programme and its budget.

The UNEP will also launch a comprehensive blueprint for addressing the climate, nature and pollution crises, and participants will consider a consensual statement on how to build a resilient and inclusive post-pandemic world.

A leadership dialogue will be convened on the contribution of the environment to sustainable development and to building a resilient and inclusive post-pandemic world.

The UNEA-5 will resume in February 2022, with an in-person meeting held at UNEP headquarters in Nairobi, where decision-makers will tackle matters requiring face-to-face negotiations.

The highlights of UNEA-5 include: Making peace with nature: This new report by UNEP presents the most comprehensive blueprint yet for addressing the climate, nature and pollution crises simultaneously to secure a sustainable future and prevent future pandemics.

The report explains how scientific progress and bold policy-making can open a path towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 and a carbon neutral world by 2050.

The report will be officially launched at a high-level, virtual press conference on February 22.