credit: UNEP/Kiara Worth
12 Dec 2025 Story Climate Action

The best pictures from UNEA-7

credit: UNEP/Kiara Worth

The seventh United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) has been a whirlwind, featuring everything from presidential addresses to rap performances. UN Environment Programme (UNEP) photographers have been documenting it all. Here are some of their best images.  

See more: All UNEA-7 photo albums

Two people laughing and looking at the camera
Credit: UNEP/Florian Fussstetter 

UNEP’s newest Goodwill Ambassador, Tanzanian rapper Frida Amani, meets with UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen. 

Two people dancing
Credit: UNEP/Kiara Worth 

 Actress and UNEP Goodwill Ambassador Antoinette Taus parties with her brother, internationally renowned DJ Tom Taus, at a gala celebration Wednesday evening.  

A person talking on a big screen
Credit: UNEP/Kiara Worth 

UNEA President Abdullah Bin Ali Al-Amri opened UNEA-7 by calling for delegates to focus on practical, science-guided resolutions grounded in the spirit of multilateralism.  

UNEP Deputy Executive Director
Credit: UNEP/Florian Fussstetter 

UNEP Deputy Executive Director Elizabeth Maruma Mrema listens during a high-level discussion on Thursday. 

A woman looking at the camera
Credit: UNEP/Kiara Worth 

Indigenous Peoples played a prominent role at UNEA-7, which underlined the importance of Indigenous knowledge in countering a range of environmental crises, including biodiversity loss.   

Two women looking at a tree
Credit: UNEP/Kiara Worth 

UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen and Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark tour the tree-filled UN campus in northern Nairobi.  

Two men talking
Credit: UNEP/Kiara Worth 

Delegates discuss how to meaningfully involve young people in environmental decision-making, a theme that coursed throughout UNEA-7.  

A man speaking at a podium
Credit: UNEP/Kiara Worth 

Kenyan President William Samoei Ruto speaks at a high-level session Thursday, where he said conservation and economic development must go hand-in-hand. “[Environmental Action] cannot succeed in countries in the Global South if they are asked to protect the planet while their people sink deeper into hardship.”   

People singing
Credit: UNEP/Kiara Worth 

The Kenyan Boys Choir officially kicked off UNEA-7 with a performance ahead of the opening plenary.  

A person talking at a podium
Credit: UNEP/Kiara Worth 

UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen announces the winners of the 2025 Champions of the Earth, the UN’s highest environmental honour.  

UNEP staffer Manfredi Caltagirone
Credit: UNEP/Kiara Worth 

UNEP staffer Manfredi Caltagirone is posthumously named a Champion of the Earth. Caltagirone, who passed away earlier this year, was recognized for his groundbreaking work to rein in emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.  

People at a podium
UNEP

UNEA-7 ended with a flourish as countries agreed to 11 resolutions covering everything from the sustainable use of AI to cooperation on wildfires. But more than that, say those involved, the assembly showed that countries are still able to put aside their differences and drive environmental action.