2023 in Review

2023 was another busy year for environmental governance, with major negotiations and intergovernmental meetings in Geneva and beyond, leading to landmark decisions to tackle the triple planetary crisis we are facing.

As the world capital for multilateralism, Geneva is at the center of numerous debates and negotiations in the fields of science, health, human rights, development, trade and green finance, employment, peacebuilding and security, disaster risk reduction, humanitarian response, nature conservation, chemicals and pollution, as well as new technologies and innovation. This interdisciplinarity allows International Geneva to have unique cross-disciplinary expertise on climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.

In 2023, the Geneva Environment Network organized 67 multi-stakeholder events, supported partners in hosting numerous other events, and welcomed 30 groups of students at the International Environment House. We also kept the Geneva community informed of environment-related activities and issues through our weekly newsletter and web resources.

We would like to thank Switzerland, our partners, and other stakeholders for their continued support and collaboration, and for continuing to make Geneva a global hub for international environmental governance.

And while we are celebrating, others might be struggling for their lives in other parts of this planet. Conscious of the challenges some of your countries might be facing we stand with those who suffer and our United Nations colleagues around the world, working to contribute to a world in peace, standing for human rights and respecting obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law.

Click here for the list and summaries of our events.

Selection of Quotes for 2023

The Role of Geneva and Multilateralism

We live in unprecedented times. Challenges are more global than ever. Our world is facing strong headwinds of fragmentation. We need to look beyond our own horizons. We need to work towards different perspectives, and to lay the groundwork for an open and inclusive dialogue. Such an approach is the hallmark of International Geneva.
— Alain BERSET, President of Swiss Federal Council, speaking at the Geneva Day of the World Economic Forum Annual meeting on 17 January 2023

As Geneva plays a crucial role as place to coordinate multilateral solutions, let us make the best use of the collective efforts and use them to address the collective challenges we face.
— Katrin SCHNEEBERGER, State Secretary and Director, Federal Office for the Environment, Switzerland, speaking at the opening of the 2023 Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions Conference of the Parties on 1 May 2023

The International Geneva ecosystem represented today is unique. It allows for these exchanges, essential to process of finding solutions, not only to mitigate and effect of crises and solve them, but also to prevent them.
— Nathalie FONTANET, State Councilor, Republic and Canton of Geneva, speaking at the Geneva Day of the World Economic Forum Annual meeting on 17 January 2023

It is clear the importance of international Geneva in connecting the dots in collaborating, manifesting and realizing that urgency that should drive us in addressing environmental challenges.
— Arnold KREILHUBER, Director, Europe Office, UNEP at Briefing on the 6th Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly on 6 December 2023

Let our collective International Geneva presence positively contribute to having tangible outcomes for the good of future generations. Our expertise in multilateralism is key to make any tangible outcome possible.
H.E. Amb. Jamal AL MUSHARAKH, Permanent Representative of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva at Briefing on the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) on 21 November 2023

Geneva’s multilateralism is so rich that every actor offers a piece of the puzzle in tackling plastic pollution.
Carolyn DEERE BIRKBECK, Director, Forum on Trade, Environment and the SDGs (TESS) at World Environment Day Celebration | Multilateral Solutions to Beat Plastic Pollution on 5 June 2023

The environmental work happening in Geneva is fragmented, it goes in different directions. The meeting place for the environment in Geneva is done by the Geneva Environment Network.
— Yves LADOR, Representative to Earth Justice to the United Nations in Geneva at Right to Science, Central to the Future Science-Policy Panel to Contribute Further to the Sound Management of Chemicals and Waste and to Prevent Pollution | Geneva Toxic Free Talks on 22 September 2023

We are all living in the middle of the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. These are the biggest threats facing humankind and the natural world. Each element of the triple crisis is deeply connected to each other; therefore, we need to address them together.
— Elizabeth MREMA, Deputy Executive Director of UNEP, speaking at Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution Prevention: Building the Linkages from Science to Action, a side event to the BRS COPs 2023, organized in the framework of the Road to OEWG 2 Series, on 2 May 2023

Our planet is currently facing a triad of environmental problems caused by climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. This calls for urgent and collective action to mitigate impacts avoid the reaching of the threshold of irreversibility and ensure a sustainable and habitable future for the generations to come. […] UNEA-6 outcomes must be bold, time-bound and ambitious to deliver on the current environmental challenges. They need to represent the current collective thinking of prevailing environmental issues and will be a vital step in the need for action.
— H.E. Amb. Omar ZNIBER, Permanent Representative of Morocco to the United Nations in Geneva at Briefing on the 6th Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly on 6 December 2023

Environmental multilateralism matters. […] We are currently not yet where we want and need to be. International cooperation must be improved through more effective inclusive and networked multilateralism.
Michel TSCHIRREN, Head, Global Affairs Section, Federal Office for the Environment, Switzerland at Briefing on the 6th Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly on 6 December 2023

Biodiversity Loss

Threats to the species of our planet are even greater today than they were 50 years ago, as exploitative trade, environmental degradation, and habitat loss continue to threaten the world’s biodiversity. All countries must take bolder action to address these challenges.
— H.E. Amb. Bathsheba Nell CROCKER, Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations Office at Geneva, speaking at the Geneva World Wildlife Day Celebration | 50 Years of Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation and Sustainability on 3 March 2023

This year’s World Wildlife Day is dedicated to partnerships, and the list of partners here already set a good example of what we can do in Geneva by bringing different parties together. We all know that biodiversity is in great danger, and in no small part due to the damage we ourselves have unwittingly inflicted upon nature and wildlife over the years. Therefore, it’s also part of our task to try to reverse this trend of weakening or extinction of species. This can’t be achieved without strong partnerships.
— H.E. Amb. Lotte KNUDSEN, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva, speaking at the Geneva World Wildlife Day Celebration | 50 Years of Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation and Sustainability on 3 March 2023

To stop wildlife exploitation, we must ensure compliance and effective implementation of the Convention by all Parties. Legal tools and procedures are the instruments for it.
Ivonne HIGUERO, Secretary-General, CITES Secretariat at Briefing on the 77th meeting of the CITES Standing Committee on 17 November 2023

We close this second Leaders Forum here in Geneva, inspired to put word into deed when it comes to conserving nature. We have reached a point where business as usual simply isn’t an option, so when we make promises to the planet, we need to find ways to make those a reality.
Grethel AGUILAR, Director General, IUCN at the closure of the IUCN Leaders Forum, on 13 October 2023

The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands is not only focused on actual sites, it considers the protection of assets also from toxic poisoning. When we poison our beautiful sites, we are poisoning ourselves and the sentient beings that depend on them. When birds migrate, they carry mercury with them which is the reason why we have mercury in the Arctic. Ecosystems are so interconnected that the sentient beings that we share the planet with are also poisoned, so we need to rethink how the crisis happens and the gender responsiveness of our policymaking.
We need to go beyond talk and really take actions because we are on the edge and dangerously so. When these crises impact us, they impact everyone regardless of economic status. Each one of us on every corner of the planet is affected.
— Musonda MUMBA, Secretary General, Ramsar Convention on Wetlands at “Making Peace with Our Rivers”: The Importance of the Health of Aquatic Ecosystems to the Realization of the Human Right to Water, Taking a Gender Perspective on 15 September 2023

The moment when an idea begins to pick up momentum is when it is most at risk of being co-opted. Nature positive can be the rallying cry for a more sustainable world, but we must ensure it is more than a slogan, and drives all of us to take transformative and measurable action – right now.
— Marco LAMBERTINI, Special Envoy of WWF International in ‘Nature positive’ has hit the mainstream. We need to ensure it delivers transformation, not greenwashing

Climate Change

Climate science should serve every sector and it is increasingly clear that climate change, climate action and climate impacts affect everybody.
Elena MANAENKOVA | Deputy Secretary-General, World Meteorological Organization at Briefing on the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) on 21 November 2023

In the face of climate change, our reaction must not be despair but accelerated action. There is no scarcity of solutions, but that of deployment… Ultimately, more of the connections that we need have to become partnerships that lead to tech deployment and tangible impact on the ground.
Darren TANG, Director General of WIPO, speaking at the celebration of the 10th anniversary of WIPO GREEN on 1 November 2023

Energy is critical to supporting peace, cooperation, economic and social development, and quality of life in our region and beyond. Experts have found clear pathways for policymakers to attain a resilient and carbonneutral energy system… Only bold, immediate, and sustained action can develop resilient energy systems that ensure affordable access to energy AND decarbonize our energy systems in time to avoid a climate disaster.
Tatiana MOLCEAN, Executive Secretary, UNECE speaking at the 32nd Session of the Committee on Sustainable Energy on 13 September 2023.

Any discussion about Solar Radiation Modification should not reduce or in no way be used as an excuse to reduce efforts for mitigation and adaptation.
— H.E. Amb. Felix WERTLI, Switzerland Ambassador for the Environment at Perspectives on Solar Radiation Modification Governance on 12 October 2023

COP28 will be the space to close the climate ambition gap. Ambition is not only about numbers. Ambition is really about people, workers who have the right skills to change our energy systems, food, agriculture and transport. Ambition is about enterprises that are capable of innovating, investing in new production methods, and building new business models. Ambition is about communities that can diversify their economies and transform them in particular those that are coal and fossil-fuel dependent.
Moustapha Kamal GUEYE, Director, Priority Action Programme on Just Transitions Towards Environmentally Sustainable Economies and Societies, ILO at Briefing on the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) on 21 November 2023

Climate change is interrelated with good governance. Each State is responsible for the well-being and human rights of its population. We are trying to do our bit, but the question of habitability pushes the limit of what good governance can do nationally.
We cannot continue to look at human rights exclusively within the national obligations of each State but must hold each one of us responsible for violations occurring globally. We cannot continue to hide behind the division between collective and individual rights. The climate emergency is affecting all human rights and we need all countries to genuinely engage.
Samuel LANWI, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Marshall Islands to the UN Office in Geneva, speaking at the policy dialogue “What is habitability? Climate Change & Human Rights” by the HABITABLE Project team, on 27 June 2023

By subscribing to a common framework to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, International Geneva, a global centre of governance, is showing its resolve to act for the climate.
 Jean-Pierre REYMOND, Executive Director of 2050Today at the signature of the 2050Today Charter at Palais Eynard, on 5 December 2023

Chemicals, Waste and Pollution

Two weeks of intense meetings and high emotions have achieved very positive results for the protection of people and the planet… This success is a testament to the power of multilateralism and constructive dialogue between nations.
— Rolph PAYET, Executive Secretary, Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, speaking on the outcomes of the 2023 Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions Conference of the Parties that took place from 1-12 May 2023

Ten years ago, governments, the scientific community and stakeholders were united to create the comprehensive yet practical set of rules of the Minamata Convention on Mercury. The hard work then is bearing its fruits today. In a short period time we gather 147 parties and every part of the Convention is achievable.
I can easily imagine the Convention and its main provisions to be fully implemented in some 15 years. I look forward to our next meeting when we can celebrate and be proud of even further achievements.
— Monika STANKIEWICZ, Executive Secretary, Minamata Convention Secretariat at Minamata Convention: A Decade of Global Commitment to Make Mercury History on 30 October 2023

Pollution is a global problem. It has to be addressed by everyone – states, civil society, private sector, academia, indigenous people… It’s important to create a global consensus on the fact that pollution, biodiversity loss, and climate change are mutually reinforcing. They harm not only the environment but also people, who cannot fully enjoy a broad range of human rights, including for example, the right to a clean, healthy, sustainable environment, and access to safe and clean drinking water, among others.
Pollution disproportionately impacts those living in vulnerable settings. This exacerbates inequalities and impacts indigenous people drastically.  Women and girls, especially those indigenous and rural, are most vulnerable and suffer from the impact of pollution. For this reason, among so many others, we cannot ignore that pollution must be on the agenda, linked with human rights issues.
H.E. Amb. Romy TINCOPA | Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Peru to the international organizations in Geneva at Advancing a Human Rights-based Approach to Pollution for People and the Planet | BRS COPs 2023 Side Event on 10 May 2023

We have the world on our hands and to safeguard it from the harm of chemicals and waste is a huge responsibility and challenge but also a great opportunity.
Jacqueline ALVAREZ, Head, Chemicals and Health Branch, UNEP at Briefing on the 3rd Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to Develop an International Legally Binding Instrument on Plastic Pollution (Plastic Pollution INC-3) on 12 October 2023

The burden of disease shows no signs of decreasing. Despite our many successes in our efforts, we still see a quarter of all global deaths can be attributed to the environment.
Health is a very important reason why we need to manage chemicals, deal with waste, and prevent pollution. These deaths are all avoidable.
— Lesley ONYON, Head, Chemical Safety and Health Unit, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, WHO at Briefing on the 1st Session of the Ad Hoc Open-Ended Working Group on the Science-Policy Panel to Contribute Further to the Sound Management of Chemicals and Waste and to Prevent Pollution on 12 January 2023

Science tells us that changes caused by chemicals and pollution are threatening human health and environmental health today. But the increasing environmental deterioration we are witnessing threaten our future.
From a scientific perspective, the most effective and comprehensive solutions for a sustainable future will be guided by precaution, simplification and transparency while ensuring that just transition at every phase. Our actions must be based on the best available scientific knowledge, and we must partner with Indigenous Peoples and other important knowledge holders and rights holders.
— Bethanie CARNEY ALMROTH of the Scientists Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty speaking at the Human Rights 75 Roundtable on the “Future of Human Rights, the Environment and Climate” on 12 December 2023

Being part of this call and being part of the global policymaking processes is something waste pickers don’t take lightly because we are literally being called to be on the table. These are tables that directly affect not just our lives, but also the lives of our families and future generations.
John Xavier CHWEYA, Chairman, Kenya National Waste Pickers Welfare Association, speaking at the speaking at Beating Waste Pollution | Geneva Zero Waste Day Celebration on 30 March 2023

To frame youth and young children’s engagement in chemicals and waste policy-making today, our demographic can be described as the most harmed and the least heard.
Youth participation was merely a blip on the radar, recording only a 2% participation in SAICM multistakeholder process, and possibly less across MEAs.
Shannon LISA, Interim Global Focal Point Chemicals & Waste Youth Platform, Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY) at Connecting the dots: Youth and the National Implementation Plans (NIPs) | BRS COPs 2023 Side Event on 9 May 2023

Plastic Pollution

I don’t think plastics pollution and health – that connection – has been given the attention it needed. And not only that, we don’t have research that documents well how plastics affect human health throughout the [product] lifecycle. They do actually.
I think we need to review all the studies that have been done and try to start communicating and support the treaty process. We cannot wait until we have more research. While doing more research, we should also make use of what we have — which already indicates problems throughout the lifecycle of plastics.
A toothbrush can break down in 500 years, if at all. It’s not about us, it’s about the many generations to come.
— Tedros ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, Director General, WHO, speaking at the Geneva Day of the World Economic Forum Annual meeting on 17 January 2023

Knowing that plastic is ubiquitous in the environment is terrible news, but to find it in our bloodstream or organs is worse.
Maria NEIRA, Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, World Health Organization at World Environment Day Celebration | Multilateral Solutions to Beat Plastic Pollution on 5 June 2023

La Ville et le Canton de Genève, et aussi la Suisse, ont un rôle important parce que la production de déchets plastiques est liée au pouvoir d’achat. […] L’engagement de Genève internationale sur cette thématique peut jouer un rôle de premier plan dans la résolution de la crise plastique. La Genève internationale compte un fabuleux réseau d’expertise, d’organisations, des missions gouvernementale permanente, ONGs et d’institutions académique qui sont très actifs dans le domaine.
— Alfonso GOMEZ, Mayor, City of Geneva at World Environment Day Celebration | Multilateral Solutions to Beat Plastic Pollution on 5 June 2023

It is time to realize that plastic pollution threatens our world, lives and rights and to act accordingly addressing plastic pollution not only a waste problem but a human rights crisis.
Peggy HICKS, Director of the Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures and Right to Development Division of the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) at World Environment Day Celebration | Multilateral Solutions to Beat Plastic Pollution on 5 June 2023

Nature is circular per se, the plastics treaty must go towards a circular economy that begins and ends in nature. For that, nature-based solutions could be a way to get out of this crisis.
Karine SIEGWART, Senior Policy Advisor, International Union for Conservation of Nature at World Environment Day Celebration | Multilateral Solutions to Beat Plastic Pollution on 5 June 2023

Multilateral efforts have been a multiplier of action toward the premises of the plastic pollution treaty. In this context, the Geneva Beat Plastic Pollution Dialogues pollution played an important role in increasing the linkages between actors.
— David AZOULAY, Director, Geneva Office and Environmental Health Program, Center for International Environmental Law at World Environment Day Celebration | Multilateral Solutions to Beat Plastic Pollution on 5 June 2023

Human Rights and the Environment

I join hands with my colleagues from across the United Nations and call for the immediate release of Niloufar Bayani and her colleagues so that they may rejoin their family and return to their important work.
The world faces a triple planetary crisis and at this time, we need everyone with the qualifications, experience and expertise, like Niloufar, to help protect this beautiful planet that we call home.
— David R. BOYD, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, speaking at Call for Release for Niloufar Bayani and her Fellow Environmental Conservationists on 14 February 2023

The rights-based approach involves the values of solidarity in the shaping of norms. It also involves self-awareness, empathy which is arguably one of the defining features of what makes us human. It also involves action to enhance visibility to address specific issues and vulnerabilities and to elaborate special measures of protection, to overcome the legacy and experience of discrimination.
Chemicals and waste instruments face a strong challenge of changing direction and becoming fit to overcome the global chemicals emergency. The human rights-based approach offers the tools to do this, to move us to a chemically safe circular economy.
Marcos ORELLANA, UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights speaking at an ICCM5 Side Event, Advancing a Human Rights-based Approach to Accelerate the Sound Management of Chemicals and Waste for People and the Planet

The historic resolutions of the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly in 2021 and 2022 respectively that allowed the adoption of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, would not have been possible without the contributions of women leaders. This is one among millions of examples of women and girls as inspiring role models in the context of environmental human rights defenders. When women and girls are involved in the design and implementation of environmental and climate policies, better outcomes are produced.
— David R. BOYD, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, speaking at the International Women’s Day 2023 Celebration | Women, Girls, and the Triple Planetary Crisis on 8 March 2023

Fulfilling the rights to life and a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment requires the equitable phase-out of fossil fuels.
Human rights law requires those responsible for climate harms, including States & businesses, to be held accountable for remedying them. It is time that we ensure that environmental destruction carries criminal sanctions, as an essential deterrent.
Volker TÜRK, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, speaking at a press conference ahead of Human Rights Day on 6 December 2023.

The Geneva Roadmap is a very important initiative to follow up on the implementation of resolution 40/11 on the protection of environmental defenders. I welcome this panel in order to look at what has been done since March 2020, to better protect those who put their lives at risk, to preserve the future of our planet… We all have a role to play in contributing to a safe and enabling environment for environmental defenders.
— Michel FORST, Special Rapporteur of the Aarhus Convention on Environmental Defenders, speaking at Protecting Environmental Defenders | HRC52 Side Event on 20 March 2023

Environmental violence constitutes a major threat to the well-being, livelihood, and cultural integrity of Indigenous peoples worldwide. We are 476 million Indigenous peoples around the world, who guard our ancestral lands and protect the environment. We are disproportionately bearing the burden of environmental violence and its devastating consequences. The issue is urgent and requires immediate action. It affects not only the health and well-being of Indigenous peoples, but also erodes our cultural heritage, identity, and different way of life.
— Ghazali OHORELLA, Legal Counsel, International Indian Treaty Council, speaking at Advancing a Human Rights-based Approach to Pollution for People and the Planet, a side event to the BRS COPs 2023 on 10 May 2023

The right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is critical for our future, intergenerational equity and the rights of current and future generations. It is no small achievement to have achieved its universal recognition, but there’s a great deal that needs to be done to having implementation.
Benjamin SCHACHTER, Environment team leader, OHCHR, speaking at the celebration of the 2nd anniversary of the recognition of the right to healthy environment by the Human Rights Council and the UN Human Rights Prize 2023 awarded to the Global Coalition of Civil Society, Indigenous Peoples, Social Movements, and Local Communities on 9 October 2023

Minerals and Resources

The topic of sustainable management of minerals has never been so high on the global political environment agenda and the reason is that minerals are essential for the future. The energy transition, infrastructure, and digitalization processes, among others, represent greener solutions but they can also cause detrimental environmental impacts. With an expected 500 per cent increase in the demand for minerals, environmental challenges are going to be even more acute.
— Laura PLATCHKOV, National Focal Point (UNEA5/12), Federal Office for the Environment, Switzerland, speaking at the Briefing on the Implementation of UNEA Resolution 5/12 on Environmental Aspects of Minerals and Metals Management on 28 February 2023

Geneva has been the protagonist from the beginning to the end of a process building on UNEA resolution 5/12, which looks into the environmental aspects of mining and metals. […] The Geneva Community has been collaborating on a resolution on circular economy transitions that speaks to how different sectors would transform themselves to address the triple planetary crisis and what collaboration around that transition would look like.
Elisa TONDA, Chief, Resources and Markets Branch, UNEP at Briefing on the 6th Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly on 6 December 2023

Sand is the elephant in the room of development and of the energy transitions, but sand is also a fundamental building block for ecosystems, biodiversity and climate stability.
Sand is fundamental for fisheries, for the protection of shorelines, protecting us from storm surge and preventing salty infiltration of water. Extraction of sand is making people more vulnerable to climate change and of impairing the tourism industry by damaging beaches.
Pascal PEDUZZI, Director, UNEP/GRID-Geneva at Launch of the Marine Sand Watch: Monitoring Marine Sand Extraction on 6 September 2023

We are witnessing an interesting trade-off at between climate action and all these massive impacts on the environment due to the increased mining, which underlines the energy transition that will enable climate action. While it feels like choosing the least of two evils, a science-policy panel can help in enabling us to understand what is happening.
— Georgios GEORGIADIS, Secretary, Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe at Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution Prevention: Linking Science and Action Using a Life-Cycle Approach | WRF2023 Lab / Road to OEWG 2 Series on 6 September 2023

Trade and the Environment

“The world economy is not in good shape. We know people are bearing the brunt of slow growth, volatile prices, climate impacts and debt pressures. We have a responsibility to contribute to efforts to reinvigorate growth and opportunities for people everywhere.
We must have a substantive and meaningful Ministerial Conference with concrete results. It is welcome that stakeholders increasingly understand that trade is part of the solution for many contemporary global challenges we are facing. But we still have the onus on us here in Geneva to deliver.”
— Ngozi OKONJO-IWEALA, Director-General, World Trade Organization in her report to a meeting of the WTO’s Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) on 12 December 2023

Gender and the Environment

Women and girls continue to be distinctly and disproportionately affected by the effects of the triple planetary crisis and this is not acceptable… More decisive action is required for making women equal partners in decision-making processes, be it at the local, national or international levels. Achieving gender equality is also the only way to tackle the challenges arising from the planetary crisis. We simply cannot ignore half of the planet.
— Damaris CARNAL, Switzerland’s former Focal Point for UN Environment Programme, speaking at the International Women’s Day 2023 Celebration | Women, Girls, and the Triple Planetary Crisis on 8 March 2023

The triple crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss threatens to be joined by a fourth crisis: the rights of women and girls. All of these crises exacerbate gender inequalities and undermine women and girls’ rights to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. It is important to remember that International Women’s Day is not just about listening to women’s and girls’ voices and understanding how those crises are affecting them, but also that we also must ensure that they are at the forefront of shaping solutions as decision-makers.
— Osnat LUBRANI, Director, Geneva Office & Head, Humanitarian, UN Women, speaking at the International Women’s Day 2023 Celebration | Women, Girls, and the Triple Planetary Crisis on 8 March 2023

Water

The 2023 UN Water Conference marked a history. Nearly 50 years after the Mar Del Plata conference in Argentina, the UN convened a new conference in the midst of a global water crisis, with 2 billion people without warranted access to safe drinking water, and around 4 billion with a basic sanitation. A situation worsening day by day with ongoing climate change.
— Pedro ARROJO-AGUDO, Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation at Water for Shared Prosperity: From New York to Bali | Briefing in Preparation of the 10th World Water Forum

Tackling climate change and water scarcity from a human rights perspective requires inclusive democratic water governance based on transparency, public participation, international cooperation and accountability.  It is our joint obligation to enforce these rights for everyone.
— H.E. Amb. Katharina STASCH, Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations in Geneva at “Making Peace with Our Rivers”: The Importance of the Health of Aquatic Ecosystems to the Realization of the Human Right to Water, Taking a Gender Perspective on 15 September 2023

We are facing a paradoxical water crisis on the planet, the Blue Planet, as 2 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water.
It does not represent a crisis of scarcity but one of governance. The main issue is that the large majority of these two billion people who do not have access to water safe drinking are extremely impoverished people living next to rivers or aquifers that are polluted with toxins or overexploited by abusive or unsustainable economic activities. The root of this crisis lies in the unsustainability of the current development model, based on the paradigm of the domination of nature.
Pedro ARROJO-AGUDO, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation at “Making Peace with Our Rivers”: The Importance of the Health of Aquatic Ecosystems to the Realization of the Human Right to Water, Taking a Gender Perspective on 15 September 2023

Digital Transformation

We are running out of time. It is almost eight years after the adoption of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development and the SDGs are off track, poverty and hunger are on the rise and we’re faced with a triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss that has pushed humanity to the brink.
Only 12 percent of the SDGs targets are on track while progress on others have stalled. Using AI to help put the 2030 agenda back on track is no longer just an opportunity, it’s actually our responsibility.
Doreen BOGDAN-MARTIN, Secretary-General, International Telecommunication Union (ITU) at AI for Good Summit on 6 July 2023

Peace and Security

Given our stewardship of the Blue Pacific Continent, we have a deep concern for and commitment to the need for urgent, immediate and proper action to combat the threat and impacts of climate change, biodiversity and habitat loss, waste and pollution, among other. In the Pacific, the single greatest threat to our peace and security comes not from great ships or fighter jets, but from pervasive insidiuous climate change. Rising sea levels do not respect our sovereign bodies.
H.E. Amb. Mere FALEMAKA, Permanent Representative of the Pacific Islands Forum to the UN Office in Geneva, speaking at the Geneva Peace Week 2023 event on Conflict prevention in the context of climate change, lessons from the Pacific on 2 November 2023

Selection of Key Outcomes of Environment Negotiations in 2023            

January

In January, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2023, over 50 Ministers of Trade representing a diversity of countries from all regions and levels of development launched a Coalition of Trade Ministers on Climate. Led by trade ministers from Ecuador, the European Union, Kenya and New Zealand, the Coalition seeks to provide high-level leadership and guidance to boost inclusive international cooperation on the nexus of climate, trade, and sustainable development.

March

In March, the 58th session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change adopted the Summary for Policymakers (SPM) and approved the longer report of the Synthesis Report of the Sixth Assessment Report. The landmark report provides policymakers an overview of the state of knowledge on the science of climate change.

The UN 2023 Water Conference also convened in New York for the first time since 1977 and adopted the Water Action Agenda. In an unprecedented political push for cross-border water cooperation, Ministers from Africa, Latin America and the Middle East have declared at the UN Water Conference their countries’ resolve to join the Water Convention.

The UN General Assembly has also adopted by consensus a resolution calling for an Advisory Opinion on Climate Change from the International Court of Justice (A/77/58). This historic resolution, forwarded by 18 core countries led by the Republic of Vanuatu, alongside 133 co-sponsor States, aims to seek clarity on countries’ climate change and human rights obligations under international law from the world’s highest court.

May

The 2023 meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions concluded in May in Geneva, and adopted major decisions, which include eliminating the production and use of methoxychlor, UV-328 and dechlorane plus under the Stockholm Convention; listing terbufos under the Rotterdam Convention; and adopting technical guidelines under the Basel Convention on the environmentally sound management of plastic waste, POPs waste, and e-waste.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child adopted General Comment No. 26 on children’s rights and the environment, with a special focus on climate change, at its 93rd session in May in Geneva. The outcome highlights a remarkable global engagement and serves as authoritative guidance on how children’s rights are impacted by the environmental crisis and what governments must do to uphold these rights to ensure that children live in a clean, healthy, and sustainable world.

At the 76th World Health Assembly that took place in May in Geneva, the resolution on the impact of chemicals, waste and pollution on human health was adopted by Member States. The resolution aims to bolster the implementation of existing WHO strategies including implementation of the WHO Chemicals Roadmap which outlines key roles of the health sector in implementing the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management.

June

During its 5th session in June, the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC-5) on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBJN) agreed on a UN legally binding instrument to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (A/CONF.232/2023/4). This historic “high seas” treaty aims at taking stewardship of the ocean on behalf of present and future generations, under the promises of protecting and cleaning the ocean, while sustainably managing fish stocks and lowering temperatures.

At the 111th Session of the General Conference of the International Labour Organization held in June in Geneva, a resolution concerning a just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all has been adopted, underscoring that urgent action to advance just transition is an imperative to achieving social justice, decent work and poverty eradication, and to tackling environmental and climate change.

August

Leaders from eight South American nations — Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela — convened in August in Belém do Pará, Brazil for the Amazon Summit, which adopted the Belém Declaration to address deforestation and protection of the Amazon.

In the same month, the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) was launched at the Seventh Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Assembly in Vancouver, Canada to support the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

September

In September, the fifth International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM5) adopted the Global Framework on Chemicals – For a planet free of harm from chemicals and waste, a High-Level declaration, and a dedicated trust fund. With the adoption of this Global Framework, chemicals, waste and pollution are recognized at the same level as the crises of climate change and nature and biodiversity loss, which already have frameworks in place.

November

At the 5th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury, held in November in Geneva, Parties defined new dates to phase out mercury-added products including cosmetics, strengthened ties with Indigenous Peoples, advanced the first effectiveness evaluation of the Convention, and reached an agreement on a threshold for mercury waste. They also unanimously adopted a gender action plan, and a digital strategy to guide the work of the Secretariat.

In 2023, with the second and third sessions (May and November) of the  Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, the process pursuing resolution 5/14 adopted at the 5th session United Nations Environment Assembly reched its halfway mark.

December

The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) resulted in the adoption of a decision on the first Global Stocktake under the Paris Agreement, which for the first time uses language on fossil fuels, calling for transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems. COP28 also saw operationalization of the loss and damage fund and a decision for the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and the UN Office for Project Services will host the secretariat of the Santiago Network for Loss and Damage.

The ad-hoc open-ended working group (OEWG) to prepare proposals for the science-policy panel to contribute further to the sound management of chemicals and waste and to prevent pollution, pursuing UNEA resolution 5/8 held the its resumed first session and second session this year, being now halfway through the negotiations to be completed by the end of 2024.

The Global Coalition of Civil Society, Indigenous Peoples, Social Movements, and Local Communities for the Universal Recognition of the Human Right to a Clean, Healthy, and Sustainable Environment was recognized as one of the recipients of the 2023 United Nations Human Rights Prize. The Coalition is awarded for its essential role in advocating for the recognition of the right to a healthy environment by the UN General Assembly on 28 July 2022.

2022 in Review

Following the setbacks due to the COVID pandemic in 2020 and 2021, 2022 presented many opportunities to advance the global environmental agenda. In Geneva and beyond, major meetings led to landmark decisions to tackle the triple planetary crisis.

In the run-up to various negotiations, major meetings and UN days, we have enjoyed collaborating with many of the 100 institutions or secretariats in the Geneva region who contribute to the global environmental agenda, and other visiting organizations, to tackle the climate, biodiversity loss and pollution crisis we are facing.

In 2022, the Geneva Environment Network organized 56 multi-stakeholder events, supported partners in hosting numerous other events, and welcomed 20 groups of students at the International Environment House. We also kept the Geneva community informed of environment-related activities and issues through our newsletter and web resources.

We would like to thank Switzerland, our partners and stakeholders for their continued support and collaboration, and for continuing to make Geneva a global hub for international environmental governance. Congratulations and thank you!

Click here for the list and summaries of our events.

Selection of Quotes for 2022

The Role of Geneva

While the environment may be a cause of conflict, throughout history, it has been much more a source of cooperation. […] Geneva is one of the places where we can work together to put forward this issue of caring for the environment in a good cooperation spirit among countries.
― Philippe ROCH, Former Swiss State Secretary for the Environment, and Member ‎of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy Board, speaking at the event Mobilizing International Geneva for Environmental Peacebuilding | 2nd International Conference on Environmental Peacebuilding on 3 February 2022.

Switzerland supports a number of platforms in Geneva to create networks and foster interdisciplinary, and multi-stakeholder cooperation. […] The White Paper on the Future of Environmental Peacebuilding is one concrete and excellent example of the Geneva-based expertise.
― H.E. Amb. Felix Baumann, Deputy Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the UN Office ‎in Geneva, and Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the Conference on ‎Disarmament, speaking at the event Mobilizing International Geneva for Environmental Peacebuilding | 2nd International Conference on Environmental Peacebuilding on 3 February 2022.

These UNEA resolutions [on ending plastic pollution, science-policy panel, and mineral governance] are highly relevant for Geneva. On plastic resolution, we have here a machinery of the chemicals and waste cluster who has a lot of expertise and competence to support such a process, as well as many institutions that are highly relevant for it – WHO, many civil society organizations and business associations, MEAs, WTO, etc. […] The same can be said about the science-policy panel on chemicals. We do not only have the IPCC here, which serves as a model, but most importantly we have all the main actors in the chemicals and waste cluster here in Geneva. Developing a new science-policy panel with the interaction and support of those is certainly not a good way for success. […] On mineral resources: a lot of the scientific work in that area has been done through GRID-Geneva for example together with the University and other actors here in Geneva. We also have a lot of expertise with the Missions: […] Geneva can bring in both expertise and political perspectives from the countries.
― H.E. Amb. Franz PERREZ, Switzerland Ambassador for the Environment, speaking at the High-Level Debriefing on the 5th Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly, on 24 March 2022.

UNEA was a tremendous success by launching new processes. In order to ensure that these processes will be successful, we need a strong machinery, we need good cooperation with all relevant actors, especially those here in Geneva and most important of course, we need a strong and ambitious engagement by Member States. Because without Member States, we will not be able to deliver ambition.
― H.E. Amb. Franz PERREZ, Switzerland Ambassador for the Environment, speaking at the High-Level Debriefing on the 5th Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly, on 24 March 2022.

Climate Change

Policy choices that lock the world into overshooting 1.5°C and gambling on return, rather than immediately and drastically slashing emissions— including through rapid phaseout of fossil fuel production and use and a halt to deforestation— invite permanent loss and irreversible damage to humans and ecosystems around the world. In the face of this latest IPCC [WGII] report, such choices are indefensible.
Nikki REISCH, Director, Climate and Energy Program, Center for International Environmental Law, speaking at “COP26-COP27 Briefing on the IPCC Climate Change 2022 Report: Impacts, Adaptation & Vulnerability on 7 March 2022.

Climate change is the result of more than a century of unsustainable energy and land use and pattern of consumption and production. IPCC WGIII report shows how taking action now can move us towards a fairer and more livable world.  We know what to do. We know how to do it and now it’s up to us to actually take action.
― Jim SKEA, IPCC Working Group III Co-Chair, speaking at the Briefing on the IPCC Climate Change 2022 Report: Mitigation of Climate Change on 8 April 2022.

Countries may currently face political challenges but this is the moment to draw lessons from the recent experiences of recovery. Rather than spending and investing in short-term unsustainable expenditures such as fossil fuel subsidies, it is important to invest in long term low-carbon solutions… If countries are unable to address these very fiscally heavy fossil fuel subsidies, they are likely to pay a higher cost later if they do not actually invest in the long-term solutions.
― Joy KIM, Senior Economic Affairs Officer, United Nations Environment Programme, speaking at a Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform in Trade and Climate Discussion on “Subsidizing Fossil Fuels in Times of High Energy Prices“, on 16 May 2022.

In a world of increasing uncertainty, economic actors are looking to the science to help provide them with direction. For a topic like tipping points, I would hope economic actors do not rely on the Twitter sphere to understand implications but look to the IPCC to understand what they can act upon.
― Eric USHER, Head, United Nations Environment Programme’s Finance Initiative, speaking at “Climate Tipping Points, Irreversibility and their Consequences for Society, Environment and Economies | Switzerland’s Proposal for an IPCC Special Report” on 25 May 2022.

Climate change is the biggest public health threat that is facing humanity now. WHO will be supporting any initiative that will allow us to accelerate and put at a real scale the actions that are needed to face this major public health issue… I ask that you place the health argument as a main cause of concern because we are very quickly reaching the tipping point for public health. 
― Maria NEIRA, Director, Department of Public Health and Environment at the WHO, speaking at Climate Tipping Points, Irreversibility and their Consequences for Society, Environment and Economies | Switzerland’s Proposal for an IPCC Special Report” on 25 May 2022.

The human rights treaties bodies have now to deal with a global problem, intrinsic of complexities. The same goes for climate change bodies, who have been resisting the inclusion of human rights. My work is to make the link, and ensure the stories of peoples on the ground on both these arenas as central to action.
― Ian FRY, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Climate Change, speaking at the HRC50 Side Event The Rights Holders’ Challenges Facing Climate Change, on 24 June 2022.

Biodiversity / Nature

Based on international and national human rights law, putting human rights at the heart of conservation is an obligation for governments, not an option.
― David BOYD, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, delivering video message at CBD Side Event “Applying a Human Rights-based Approach in the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework” on 19 March 2022.

You cannot withdraw 50 billion tons of sand out of the environment per year without generating an impact on the environment and society.
― Pascal PEDUZZI, Director, UNEP/GRID-Geneva, speaking at “Sand and Sustainability: 10 Strategic Recommendations to Avert a Crisis Report Launch” on 26 April 2022.

Let’s stay optimistic, as there’s a lot of innovation and there’s a lot of good work. At the same time, let’s not be complacent. The window of opportunity to turn the tide and reverse biodiversity loss as well as tackle the climate crisis is quickly dwindling. It’s not lost yet but we do need to ask the questions to our bank who’s managing our money, when we go to supermarket, and when we vote. Don’t be complacent.
― Ivo MULDER, Head of UNEP Climate Finance Unit, speaking at “The Value of Nature: Finance for Biodiversity,  organized in the sidelines of INTECOL 2022”, on 30 August 2022.

INTECOL aims to help strengthen the voice of ecological societies across the planet, and highlight the crucial need for ecology to help inform decision making and facilitate effective conservation and management.
― Alice C. HUGHES, Associate Professor at the University of Hong Kong focusing on Southeast Asian conservation science and capacity building across the global Tropics, speaking at the closing ceremony of INTECOL 2022, on 2 September 2022.

This is a very strategic Conference of the Parties that set in motion all of the work we are doing: help halt biodiversity loss, conserve wildlife, regulate trade in wildlife, ensure that these species survive in the wild, and ensure that indigenous peoples and local communities who rely on these species can thrive and have their livelihoods, contribute to the economy. Having CITES is a very important part of living with nature and ensuring that we don’t suffer any more biodiversity loss.
― Ivonne HIGUERO, Secretary-General, CITES Secretariat, speaking at the Briefing on the World Wildlife Conference | 19th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES on 18 October 2022.

Plastic Pollution

Small islands already feel the significant effects of marine plastic pollution; there is no time to waste. We need a creative international instrument that deals effectively with the complexity of the plastic pollution crisis, a crisis that is both environmental and economic problem… We will get one opportunity to negotiate this international instrument. History tells us that we almost never amend international environmental agreements. We must ensure that this agreement can evolve over time to confront changing science and economic realities.
― Colin MURDOCH, Permanent Observer of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States to the United Nations Office at Geneva, speaking at the Briefing on the 1st Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to Develop an International Legally Binding Instrument on Plastic Pollution (Plastic Pollution INC-1), on 2 November 2022.

The whole cycle of plastics is now a global threat to human rights. We must ensure free, active, meaningful and informed participation in the new #PlasticsTreaty negotiations. We need clear boundaries on conflict of interest to ensure the new Treaty puts people before profits.
Volker TÜRK, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, 28 November 2022.

Plastic pollution is man-made and directly linked to climate change & biodiversity loss. We need a new #PlasticsTreaty to set up strict controls on plastic production to stop pollution. Plastics and chemical producers must be accountable.
Volker TÜRK, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2 December 2022.

Chemicals and Pollution

The scientific evidence we have about how humanity has exceeded the safe space of the planetary boundaries for chemical and pollution is dramatically shocking and should lead us to further action.
― Marcos ORELLANA, UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights, speaking at the Geneva Toxic Free Talks on “The Right Not to be Exposed, a Contribution to a Toxic Free Planet”, celebrating the 25 years of the toxics and human rights mandate on 21 September 2022.

What we see now is a global embracement of the mandate, which is encouraging. The link between toxics and human rights and the significance of the mandate the need for international cooperation for the detoxification of the planet are now clearly understood. As we paused to celebrate 25 years of the mandate, let’s recognize the consensus and mobilization that the mandate was able to gather as a big achievement. Now it’s time for action.
― Marcos ORELLANA, UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights, speaking at the Geneva Toxic Free Talks on “The Right Not to be Exposed, a Contribution to a Toxic Free Planet”, celebrating the 25 years of the toxics and human rights mandate on 21 September 2022.

The mandate to address toxics issues is embedded in the BRS Conventions, as it leads to the fundamental objective of these Conventions to protect human health and the environment, including the human rights to life, health, food, shelter and all other basic needs… Once governments and people start to realize that there is a need to achieve the right to a toxic free world, then it starts to have a lot more meaning to people who are greatly affected.
― Rolph PAYET, Executive Secretary, Basel Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, speaking at the Toxic Free Talks session on “The Right Not to be Exposed, a Contribution to a Toxic Free Planet” on 21 September 2022.

There are strong links between actions to address biodiversity loss and mercury pollution. Mercury is an extremely toxic pollutant, that can put further pressure on biodiversity and ecosystems… Being nature-positive for the people and planet is the way forward to address one of the triple planetary crisis.
― Monika STANKIEWICZ, Executive Secretary, Minamata Convention on Mercury, speaking at the Chemicals and Waste Negotiations Briefing on 7 December 2022.

Human Rights and the Environment

Rights-based approaches to protecting, conserving, and restoring biodiversity are the only effective and equitable way to save nature and save humanity. Rights-based approaches should be at the heart of the post–2020 Global Biodiversity. The right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment should be incorporated directly into the post-2020 GBF, as well as measurable targets related to its implementation. Putting human rights at the heart of conservation is an obligation for governments, not an option.
― David BOYD, speaking during a side event to the resumed sessions of CBD bodies in Geneva, “Applying a Human Rights-based Approach in the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework” on 19 March 2022.

In the 21st century, environment and human rights cannot be considered separately. They mutually affect each other and if not addressed in a comprehensive manner, they can lead to tremendous disasters both for the planet and our fundamental human rights and well-being. A human-centered ecology as well as an ecologically-oriented human rights approach can reinforce each other.
― H.E. Amb. Jérôme BONNAFONT, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations in Geneva and other international organizations in Switzerland, speaking at the Geneva Stockholm+50 Dialogue “ The Human Rights Council Contributions to Protecting Human and Natural Environment”, on 30 March 2022.

The right to a clean and Healthy Environment matters because it compels governments, businesses and institutions to respect, protect and fulfill that right. Enforcing this right could change so much. It could reduce which affects human health and is a significant cost to health systems. It could protect environmental defenders and indigenous people from persecution. It could make our cities more livable… Guaranteeing the right to a clean and healthy environment could change everything.”
― Marianna BOLSHAKOVA, Regional Coordinator, Environmental Law and Governance, UNEP Europe Office, speaking at the World Environment Day in Geneva “Celebrating the Right to a Healthy Environment: 50 Years of the Stockholm Declaration” on 30 May 2022.

The recognition of the right to a healthy and sustainable environment is bringing the people back into this issue and into the battle. It’s a question of legitimacy, and I think definitely it makes a change. People are talking about it in places I would never have thought of. It shows that people have a right to act for the environment.
― Yves LADOR, Representative of Earthjustice to the United Nations in Geneva, speaking at “The Triple Planetary Crisis: Breaking Silos” organized in the sidelines of INTECOL and Alternatiba Léman 2022”, on 31 August 2022.

We the people of the Marshall Islands are still suffering… The issue before this Council is straightforward and unambiguous. We put to you the human rights situation of the people whose only land was pulverized, with nuclear waste left behind. This legacy is beyond our capacity.
― Samuel K. Jr. LANWI, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Marshall Islands to the UN in Geneva, speaking at HRC51 on 7 October 2022.

The Aarhus Convention is undoubtedly the most important and lasting result of the Environment for Europe process. […] Aarhus convention allows any citizen of any state to challenge non-compliance by Parties. This has proven a powerful tool in exposing governments that fail to apply the Convention correctly.
― John HONTELEZ, Former Chief Advocacy Officer, Forest Stewardship Council, Former Secretary General of the European Environmental Bureau, Former Chairman of Friends of the Earth International, speaking at the High Level Briefing on the Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference | 30 Years of Achievements on 23 September 2022.

Trade and Environment

Among many amazing deliverables, and after 21 years, members concluded the multilateral Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies during MC12. Great contribution to Ocean sustainability, fisheries, and the livelihoods of millions of people. Historic.
— H.E. Amb. Santiago WILLS, Chair of fisheries subsidies negotiations, speaking at closure of the WTO 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) in June 2022.

On fisheries subsidies, WTO members have for the first time concluded an agreement with environmental sustainability at its heart. This is also about the livelihoods of the 260 million people who depend directly or indirectly on marine fisheries.”
WTO DG Ngozi OKONJO-IWEALA, speaking at closure of the WTO 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) in June 2022.

Triple Planetary Crisis

What we really need to address the triple planetary crisis are standards that help us drive transformative change. We shouldn’t spend time on standards that are incremental. We need to look at the systems, actors, products and business models that will drive the future we need to see.
— Carolyn DEERE BIRKBECK, Director, Forum on Trade, Environment & the SDGs (TESS), speaking at “Standards and the Triple Planetary Crisis” on 1 December 2022.

Climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss cannot be addressed without guaranteeing that those who stand up against this triple environmental emergency can safely exercise their fundamental freedoms of expression, association and assembly to do so.
— Michel FORST, Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders under the Aarhus Convention, speaking at the meeting with Parties to the Aarhus Convention, other Member States, civil society and international partners on 23 November 2022 to present his vision for implementing the mandate following his election in June 2022.

Selection of Key Outcomes of Environment Negotiations in 2022

During the first quarter of the year, the United Nations Environment Assembly, in Nairobi, made history by adopting 14 resolutions, including a resolution setting up the path to a global treaty to end plastic pollution. Many of these resolutions are of particular interest for international Geneva.

The second segment of the 4th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury concluded in March in Bali, Indonesia, with twelve decisions adopted as part of strengthening efforts against toxic mercury.

At the World Trade Organization (WTO) 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) in June in Geneva, governments adopted an agreement on fisheries subsidies (WT/MIN(22)/W/22), after more than twenty years of negotiations.

The two-day international meeting, Stockholm+50: A Healthy Planet for the Prosperity of All – Our Responsibility, Our Opportunity, concluded with a statement containing several recommendations for an actionable agenda, including, among others, placing human well-being at the center of a healthy planet and prosperity for all; recognizing and implementing the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment; adopting system-wide changes in the way our current economic system works, and accelerate transformations of high impact sectors.

The 2021-2022 meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS COPs) concluded in June in Geneva, agreeing on major decisions related to e-waste movement and ban of harmful chemicals affecting firefighters.

In July, the UN General Assembly adopted a landmark resolution, co-sponsored by over 100 Member States from all regions, recognizing the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment as a human right. No doubt that the Geneva international community was also very engaged in obtaining this recognition, and clear commitments to human rights were made in other negotiations.

The 14th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Convention) concluded in Geneva, with the adoption of 21 resolutions.

The Sharm el-Sheikh Climate Change Conference – UNFCCC COP27, concluded in November with the adoption of the Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan. Member States agreed to establish a funding mechanism to compensate vulnerable nations for ‘loss and damage’ from climate-induced disasters.

The 19th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES CoP19), or World Wildlife Conference, concluded in Panama in November, with a record number of species to be regulated by CITES.

In December, member states adopted the KunmingMontreal Global biodiversity framework”, and other important decisions at the UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal.

2021 in Review

The COVID-19 pandemic continued impacting nearly every aspect of the global environmental agenda in 2021. In the run-up to various negotiations, major meetings and UN days, we have enjoyed collaborating with many of the 100 institutions or secretariats in the Geneva region who contribute to the global environmental agenda, to tackle the climate, biodiversity loss and pollution crisis we are facing.

In these challenging times, that lead to some landmark achievements, including the adoption of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment at the Human Rights Council, we would like to thank Switzerland, our partners and stakeholders for the continued support, collaboration and for continuing to make Geneva a global hub for international environmental governance. Congratulations and thank you!

In 2021, the Geneva Environment Network organized 48 multi-stakeholder events and other 25 outreach and networking events, mostly online, in addition to 5 student information sessions with universities.

Click here for the list and summaries of our events.

Selection of Quotes for 2021

The world’s future looks a little bit brighter today. The United Nations, in an historical development, has for the first time recognised that everyone, everywhere, has a human right to live in a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment. This has life-changing potential in a world where the global environmental crisis causes more than nine million premature deaths every year. It will spark constitutional changes and stronger environmental laws, with positive implications for air quality, clean water, healthy soil, sustainably produced food, green energy, climate change, biodiversity and the use of toxic substances.
– David BOYD, Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Environment | Speaking in the margins of the Human Rights Council on 8 October 2021

Switzerland is glad to host so many centres of excellence in Geneva. Alongside with Nairobi, Geneva is the global centre for international environmental policy, with a network that brings together so much expertise, commitment and engagement. Switzerland expresses its gratitude to UNEP for its excellent work, as well as all the individuals who make international Geneva to what it is.
– Katrin SCHNEEBERGER, Director, Swiss Federal Office for the Environment | Speaking at Nature-based Solutions and Ecosystems Restoration, on 7 June 2021 for World Environment Day

This series [- the Geneva Nature-based Solutions Dialogues -] comes at a very timely moment, as we try to further sustainable development by making peace with nature and by tackling the triple planetary crisis that we have imposed on ourselves. Pollution, biodiversity loss and climate change are human-made crises. While they require human-made solutions, we also need NbS because nature will be our best ally in addressing these challenges.
– Bruno POZZI, Director, Europe Office, UNEP | Speaking at Nature-based Solutions and Health, on 26 April 2021

The world urgently needs a new binding treaty to combat plastic pollution. The new treaty can become the “north star and southern cross” that unites all efforts and guides us in the right direction, while restoring accountability in the plastics value chain. We call on all actors to immediately start to explore and develop the concrete elements of the new treaty. We have no time to waste.
Marco LAMBERTINI, Director General, WWF International | Speaking at High-Level Dialogue on Plastic Governance, on 11 March 2021

One of the crucial lessons from COVID-19 pandemic and others that have preceded is that we live in a deeply interconnected complex system. As such, we absolutely need to break down the persistent silos in decision-making. We must also recognize that the decisions taken today on the way we recover can lock-in damaging economic patterns that perpetuate ecosystem destruction, climate change and biodiversity loss. Alternatively, we can invest in healthier, greener and more equitable world by strengthening our capacity for prevention, detection and response through a complex systems approach.
– Cristina ROMANELLI, Programme officer, Biodiversity, Climate Change and Health, WHO | Speaking at Nature-based Solutions and Health on 26 April 2021

The interlinked crises of pollution, climate change and biodiversity act as threat multipliers – amplifying conflicts, tensions and structural inequalities, and forcing people into increasingly vulnerable situations. As these environmental threats intensify, they will constitute the single greatest challenge to human rights in our era.
All this is now painfully clear. The greatest uncertainty about these challenges is what policy-makers will do about them.
– Michelle BACHELET, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights | Speaking at the 48th session of the Human Rights Council, 13 September 2021

The Human Rights Council is designed to protect human rights. And climate change is the biggest threat to human rights this century. I think the Council would lose a lot of respect and credibility if it decides to ignore climate change, and refuses to create the position of a Rapporteur.
– Mohamed NASHEED, Ambassador for Ambition, Climate Vulnerable Forum | Speaking at Addressing the Adverse Impact of Climate Change on the Full and Effective Enjoyment of Human Rights (HRC48 Side Event) on 15 September 2021

The Right to Science is a key tool for humanity to confront the triple crisis of pollution, climate change, and biodiversity. For this it requires that measures be aligned with the best available science. In order to achieve that, science policy interface platforms that are free of conflict of interest are key and critical to transform knowledge into policy.
– Marcos ORELLANA, UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights | Speaking at The right to science in the context of toxic substances – HRC48 Side Event on 22 September 2021

Pledges being made in Glasgow will directly affect the work done in the diplomatic circles, across the UN, NGOs, civil society organizations, and other bodies in Geneva. The new special rapporteur on human rights and climate change will break the silos that we have been talking about among institutions, and contribute to tackling climate change in a way that is more consistent and rooted in human rights.
– Samuel K. LANWI, Jr., Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Marshall Islands to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva | Speaking at Leveraging Glasgow’s Ambition in Geneva’s Multilateral Processes | Geneva Cryosphere Hub on 12 November 2021

Trade and the WTO are part of the solution to climate change and environmental degradation. […] I always say that trade is about people. But the fact is that people, in particular the most vulnerable, are increasingly paying the price of environmental degradation. Problems of the global commons represent some of the biggest threats to the future prosperity and security of people around the world.
Ngozi OKONJO-IWEALA, Director-General of the WTO | Speaking at the Launch event of Ministerial Statements on Trade, Environment and Sustainable Development on 15 December 2021

A sizable fund allocation to implementation of chemicals and waste conventions will lead to immediate and concrete reductions in mercury and is simply necessary, also to contribute to a successful implementation of the other conventions that the Global Environment Facility serves.
Monika STANKIEWICZ, Executive Secretary of the Minamata Convention on Mercury | Speaking at the Executive Briefing on the Fourth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury on 19 October 2021

The Stockholm Convention has demonstrated its ability to adjust to new global developments and needs with regards to chemicals management. It has also resolved many challenges and continues to do so today. With new chemicals being considered for inclusion by the Conference of the Parties at every meeting, it is my  hope is that we will see much more further impact from the implementation of the Stockholm Convention.
Rolph PAYET, Executive Secretary, Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions | Speaking at Celebrating 20 years of the Stockholm Convention: looking into the next 20 years on 27 July 2021

To get the level of ambition, we need enhance collaboration and coordination. The role of conventions then becomes important as each one provides important pieces towards the GBF, from the legal frameworks to policies and tools. Recognizing the contributions of these Conventions is key. 
– Martha ROJAS URREGO, Secretary General, Ramsar Convention on Wetlands | Speaking at Executive Briefing on the United Nations Biodiversity Conference on 2 November 2021

CITES is well-recognized as a successful convention. But it addresses only one part of the biodiversity jigsaw: the international trade in wild species of fauna and flora is the focus. This is why it is so important to have a global biodiversity architecture. It is vital to ensure that our nature is conserved for future generations.
Ivonne HIGUERO, Secretary-General of CITES | Speaking at the Executive Briefing on the United Nations Biodiversity Conference on 2 November 2021

We are faced with a wetland protection and restoration imperative. […] You can call it a crisis or an opportunity. Opportunity is preferable because at the end of the day, wetlands are some of the most cost-effective Nature-based Solutions. […] The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands provides an intergovernmental framework that offers opportunities for global collaboration around making the most of the opportunity that wetlands present for achieving sustainable development outcomes.
Jerker TAMELANDER, Director, Science and Policy, Ramsar Convention on Wetlands | Speaking at Nature-based Solutions and Water, on 22 November 2021

Our union has strongly affirmed that the Global Biodiversity Framework must be fit for purpose. It must adopt ambitious goals and targets to address the loss of nature. […] Protected and conserved areas across the regional seascape and landscape are able to conserve biodiversity, but only if they are effectively managed and equitably governed. Rather than regarding them as a risk to people’s rights and responsibilities, IUCN regards this as one of the most powerful opportunities yet available to respect, support, and defend the territories and areas of indigenous people and local communities, as part of this global action.
Trevor SANDWITH, Director, IUCN Center for Conservation Action | Speaking at the Executive Briefing on the United Nations Biodiversity Conference on 2 November 2021

Many economic activities and jobs are directly dependent on nature and the ecosystem services they provide. […] A natural environment that thrives also enables entreprises and jobs to thrive. But then of course the reverse is very true: if business-as-usual means environmental degradation, [some] sectors and within them the jobs in these sectors will disappear.
Mito TSUKAMOTO, Head of the Development and Investment (DEVINVEST) Branch, ILO | Speaking at Decent Work Through Nature-based Solution for an Inclusive Socio-Economic Recovery on 30 August 2021

Negative impacts happen throughout the whole supply chain and lifecycle [of plastics], whether we are talking about impact on human health, the environment, or human rights enjoyment.  […] The conclusion is that there is a need to look at the plastic crisis we are currently facing in the frame of a lifecycle and full supply chain in order to design policies solutions […] that are comprehensive and that will be efficient in helping us address this issue.
David AZOULAY, Director, Environmental Health Program, Center for International Environmental Law | Speaking at Plastics in the Life Cycle/SCP, on 11 February 2021

With regards to IDP [WTO Informal Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade], IISD alongside with parnters proposes to work in similar ways we have been doing with the fisheries subsidies negotiations, to undertake analysis, dialogues, issue briefs and close contacts with delegates from WTO membership. The objective we think for next year is to identify very clearly what role trade policy can play in managing the plastic problem, how it can play it, and the role there for WTO and the wider Geneva community.
Peter WOODERS, Senior Director, Energy, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) | Speaking at the Launch event of Ministerial Statements on Trade, Environment and Sustainable Development on 15 December 2021

The growing momentum for Nature-based Solutions is a critical opportunity for reframing the wrong understanding of the relationship between people and nature, and emphasizing how people are part of nature. By improving our relationship with nature, we could jointly walk towards a common goal, a just equal future that responds to the challenge of climate emergency and biodiversity loss. Nature-based Solutions offer an inclusive and holistic framing — based on solid environmental and social safeguards — to uphold human rights, and enable to a transition to a common goal. 
– Veronica RUIZ, Programme Manager, Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction (EcoDRR), IUCN | Speaking at Nature-based Solutions and People on 6 December 2021 for concluding session of the Geneva Nature-based Solutions Dialogues

2020 in Review

The past nine months have seen an unprecedented disruption in the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It impacted nearly every aspect of the global environmental agenda. In these challenging times, we would like to thank Switzerland, the United Nations Environment Programme, our partners and stakeholders for the continued support, collaboration and for continuing to make Geneva a global hub for international environmental governance. Congratulations and thank you!

In 2020, the Geneva Environment Network organized 50 multi-stakeholder briefings and outreach events, mostly online, in addition to eight student information sessions with universities from Asia, Australia, Europe and North America.

Click here for the list and summaries of our events.

Selection of Quotes for 2020

Geneva is an international hub for environmental governance, in support to the Nairobi hub where UNEP is located. This is a central place to reinforce the synergies among the hubs. Indeed, a lot of international organizations, permanent missions, NGOs, platforms and academic institutions that are contributing to the global environmental agenda are based in Geneva.
– Bruno Pozzi, Director of Europe Office, UNEP (Speaking at The Environmental Agenda of International Geneva, on 1 September 2020.)

Biodiversity is the basis of all our life, but trends in biodiversity are not encouraging. We are experiencing an unprecedented wave of natural destruction. Today, we have to act together to do our part to address the current challenges, we have to reassess our relationship with nature and create the right economic incentives.
– H.E. Franz Perrez, Ambassador for the Environment, Switzerland (Speaking at “It’s Time for Nature” | GENeva World Environment Day Online Roundtable, on 5 June 2020)

It is a most important time to speak about nature-based solutions. Nature is a fundamental solution to multiple planetary crises: climate, biodiversity, development, social and economic recovery. Nature delivers multiple benefits such as jobs and livelihood. It also addresses poverty, a key element of climate change mitigation and adaptation, and helps prevent the emergence of new diseases. Nature-based solutions are ready to be scaled up – nature can be on our side to fight.
– Mario Boccucci, Head, UN REDD Programme Secretariat (Speaking at GENeva Environment Dialogues | The Nature-based Solutions Agenda on 4 June 2020.)

In 2021, we need to protect more, at least 30% should be protected land and sea, but then we have to manage sustainably the rest.
– Marco Lambertini, Director General, WWF International (Speaking at “It’s Time for Nature” | GENeva World Environment Day Online Roundtable, on 5 June 2020)

Nature is our ally in building back better. Nature-based solutions could provide a reduction of a third of the greenhouse gases and are much more than climate change: Mangroves help reduce flooding and nature-based solutions create jobs.
– Stewart Maginnis, Global Director, Nature-based Solutions Group, IUCN (Speaking at GENeva Environment Dialogues | The Nature-based Solutions Agenda on 4 June 2020.)

It is a time of unprecedented opportunity to build back better, learn what is inherently flawed about our relationship with nature. Epidemiologists have been warning of a pandemic outbreak risk for decades. Drivers of pandemics are not new – not even for coronaviruses – and zoonotic disease emerged largely as a result of human activity. Biodiversity destruction (through deforestation, uncontrolled urbanization, agricultural intensification, landscape and seascape homogenization) increased the probability for domesticated animals to enter in contact with wildlife and generate a spill over.
– Cristina Romanelli, Interagency Liaison on Biodiversity, Climate Change and Health, WHO (Speaking at GENeva Environment Dialogues | Emerging Infectious Diseases and Ecosystems Health, on 3 June 2020.)

As countries exit their lockdowns, we hope to see investment and prioritization of a green economy, circular economy.
– Elisabeth Mrema, Executive Secretary, Convention on Biological Diversity (Speaking at GENeva Environment Dialogues | UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP15), on 26 May 2020.)

There are many similarities between COVID-19 and climate change, but both give us opportunities – focus on the recovery, which opens unprecedented opportunities and hope such as recovery in a sustainable, green, healthy and safe manner. The SDGs are the best framework the world has at its disposal.
– Ovais Sarmad, Deputy Executive Secretary, UNFCCC (Speaking at GENeva Environment Dialogues | UNFCCC COP26, on 14 May 2020)

COVID-19 is triggering new questions for us as a society and for the scientific community such as the relation between human health, biodiversity and climate. To keep these risks at the lowest level we need to limit temperature increases to below 1.5°. If we continue on current trends, we are headed towards +4° of increase, which would affect more than 20% of all species, especially in the tropics. Increased exposure to and exploitation of wildlife, which increases the likelihood of diseases jumping species.
– Hans-Otto Pörtner, Co-chair, Working Group II, IPCC (Speaking at GENeva Environment Dialogues | The Impact of COVID-19 on Climate Science, on 2 July 2020)

Looking at the figures of plastic use, there is a doubt that the current regime is enough, more has to be done. A robust system has to address the entire lifecycle. We have to shift from this past idea that the main concern and task is to manage the waste. We have to come to a circular economy that thinks about the reduction of use, improve designs of substitutes and so on. We have to do some further work on how can we address the lifecycle, what is a robust regime to address it? What are the voluntary measures that we can take? What are the more legally binding measures that we can take, what are the base steps?
– Felix Wertli, Head of the Global Affairs Section, Switzerland (Speaking at Geneva Beat Plastic Pollution Dialogues | Plastics and Waste, on 26 November 2020.)

Greenhouse gases are emitted at each stage of the plastic lifecycle and plastic pollution is a significant and growing threat to the earth’s climate. Stopping the expansion of petrochemical and plastic production and keeping fossil fuels in the ground is a critical element in addressing the climate crisis.
– Steven Feit, Senior Attorney for the Climate and Energy Program, CIEL (Speaking at Geneva Beat Plastic Pollution Dialogues | Plastics, Climate and Air Pollution, on 10 December 2020.)

If we don’t manage wastes efficiently and safely, health consequences will follow.
– Rolph Payet, Executive Director, Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions Secretariat

The Water Convention helps countries jointly address issues related to transboundary water cooperation, such as preventing transboundary impacts, preventing pollution, adapting to climate change, responding to water related disasters, and managing water in integrated ways.
– Sonja Koeppel, Secretary to the Water Convention, UNECE (Speaking at GENeva Environment Dialogues | The Water Convention and Transboundary Water Cooperation, on 26 May 2020)

The Minamata Convention can be seen as a solution to build back better, especially for the most vulnerable communities such as millions working in small-scale artisanal gold mining (ASGM) and still using mercury in their practices, indigenous people and communities relying on marine food, and pregnant women and children who are at particular risk to be exposed to toxic mercury.
– Monika Stankiewicz, Executive Secretary, Minamata Convention Secretariat (Speaking at the Special Briefing on the 4th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury | Minamata Online, on 3 November 2020.)

There is a need for international science-based assessment of plastics and chemicals. The assessment should cease cross cutting issues and should increase the visibility of the urgency for action, in a timely way. At the same time, scientific assessment should not delay implementation because we already have robust science on hazardous substances and waste and action is needed now.
– Marcos A. Orellana, UN Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes (Speaking at Chemicals and Waste | From Science to Policy, Global Issues of Concern, Challenges and Opportunities | GENeva UNEA Briefing, on 20 October 2020)

Evidence-based studies show that regulated trade of a specie has an impact on conservation – incentive on preserving the species, since those whose livelihood depends on the trade of that species will want to preserve it to keep the trade possible.
– Ivonne Higuero, Secretary-General, CITES (Speaking at GENeva Environment Dialogues | CITES and its Upcoming Committee Meetings on 5 May 2020)

The recognition of the right to a healthy environment has been constitutionally guaranteed by 110 UN member states, while 101 states guaranteed it through environmental legislation and 125 states signed and ratified a regional human rights agreement mentioning this right – over 80% of UN member states already have a legal obligation to respect and protect this right.
– David Boyd, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment
(Speaking at HRC43 Side Event | Good practices on the Right to a Healthy Environment & next steps, on 28 February 2020.)

The ILO works with countries on developing skills strategies at the sector level and implementing skill development. They work on green sectors such as renewable energy to help countries to identify which skills will be needed to develop them. The ILO achieves this by mainstreaming the green elements into the tools that they implement in countries.
– Olga Strietska-Ilina, Senior Specialist, Skills and Employability, SKILLS, ILO (Speaking at Launch | ILO Environmental Sustainability Action Plans 2018-21, on 29 October 2020.)

There is a need to hard code environmental goals and norms into the operating system of the digital economy; to use digital technologies to nudge, incentivize, amplify and accelerate sustainable consumption and production; and to collaboratively solve four major problems that will unlock structural transformations in global value-chains.
– David Jensen, Head, Policy and Innovation, UNEP Environment Crisis Management Branch, The Digital Cooperation Agenda (Speaking at The Environmental Agenda of International Geneva, on 1 September 2020.)

COVID-19 can present us with an opportunity: we have a one in a generation chance to build back better. Decisions we take today, in the recovery phase, will either lay the foundations for sound, sustainable and inclusive growth or lock down polluting emissions for decades to come. A recovery that is science-led and that has the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at its heart.
– H.E. Amb. Miriam Shearman, Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom to the United Nations in Geneva (Speaking at the GENeva Environment Dialogues on the Impact of COVID-19 on Climate Science, on 2 July 2020.)

2019 in Review

As 2019 comes to a close, we thank you for your support and collaboration and look forward to another exciting year!

Thousands of colleagues working for international organizations, forums, federations, academic institutions, business, non-governmental and governmental organizations contributed again this year to making Geneva a global hub for environmental governance. Congratulations to all your hard work and engagement!

In 2019, the Geneva Environment Network organized 44 multi-stakeholder briefings and outreach events, in addition to 31 student information sessions with universities and secondary schools from Asia, Australia, Europe and North America.

Click here for the list and summaries of events organized by the Geneva Environment Network in 2019.

Our selection of quotes for the year

“Nature is sending us invoices, nature is telling us that unless we take care of it, it will send us invoices in the form of droughts, in the form of fires, in the form of inundations. So nature is telling us that unless we take action, it will become more and more expensive.”  “We take care of nature. Because when we take care of nature, nature takes care of us.”
Inger Andersen, UN Environment Programme Executive Director, at the Pechakucha Night for 20 years International Environment House & Geneva Environment Network, International Environment House, 25 November 2019

“We sensed a common understanding of a common problem; today, we have transformed that understanding into action. The Parties to the Basel Convention have done so within a short time: we have established an ambitious partnership, we have amended the convention to reflect the issues related to plastic waste and we have adopted a comprehensive list of actions.”
Sverre Thomas Jahre, Senior Adviser at the Ministry of Climate and Environment, Norway, at the closure of the Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention, International Conference Centre Geneva, 10 May 2019

“2019 is basically the year when to me we went from “oops” to “fuck”, which is the year when we basically understood that human-induced climate change is real, we can’t deny it anymore and that we have to do something.”
Dan Archer, Artivist, at the Pechakuchanight for 20 years International Environment House & Geneva Environment Network, International Environment House, 25 November 2019

“The cost of going to WHO standards globally in the mega-cities is about 700 billion a year. The cost to comply with the 2°C mitigation target is 1 trillion. Guess what happens when you start to act cross-sector and say: “We are going to invest globally into the shared, cross-sectorial policies and actions that will be addressing air quality, energy availability and climate altogether”. The cost is around 650 billion a year lower.”
Pavel Kabat, World Meteorological Organization Chief Scientist, at the World Environment Day Roundtable on Clean Air, International Environment House, 3 June 2019

“States have obligations to protect the life and health of citizens, including access to safe water & clean and healthy environment. No state should be allowed to export & trade chemicals that have been banned in their country for health & environmental reasons.”
Baskut Tuncak, UN Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, at the 41st Session of the Human Rights Council side event on highly hazardous pesticides, Palais des Nations, 24 June 2019 and on many other occasions (3 million tonnes pesticides are applied every year. 3 Mio acute poisoning every year, 220k deaths. We are all exposed on a daily basis. Chronic diseases appear years after exposure.)

“Investing in a cleaning environment is one of the best investments a government can make!”
David Boyd, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, at the 40th session of the Human Rights Council, Palais des Nations, 4 March 2019

“Costa Rica made possible the impossible. We believe on our decarbonization plan. Decarbonizing is ethical, good for our health and our economy!”
H.E. Carlos Alvarado, President of Costa Rica, UNEP Champion of the Earth 2019, at the “So What” series of the UNOG SDG Lab, Palais des Nations, 17 December 2019

“Land is where we live. Land is under growing human pressure and is part of the solution, but land cannot do it all.” “Land already in use could feed the world in a changing climate and provide biomass for renewable energy, but early, far-reaching action across several areas is required.”
Hoesung Lee, Chair of the IPCC, and Hans-Otto Pörtner, Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group II, at the Launch of the IPCC Report on Climate Change and Land, World Meteorological Organization, 8 August 2019

“People belong to the land and not the other way around. Everyone belongs to somewhere specific and you can always return. If you lose that connection, you will be lost. What if there’s no more land or no more functional land? Then what becomes of us, not only as a nation or our collective people, but also our own selves. If we leave, there will be no return. What do we become as a culture? For me and earlier generations of Marshaleses, the cost of failure is simple: just 30 years ago our forefathers fought long and hard for our political independence and for our statehood; can you imagine having won an independent state only to realise now that your children and grandchildren might see it disappear? It is time that evidence-based analysis and reports like these do not just need to tell the story of our common demise, bur serve as a wake-up call to act.”
Doreen Debrum, Permanent Representative of the Marshall Islands to the United Nations Office at Geneva, at the 110th Council of the International Organization for Migration, WIPO Conference Hall, 27 November 2019

“Life is integrated! You can’t approach policy by just looking at forests, by just looking at biodiversity or by just looking at climate change: you have to view them all together the way we have done with the SDGs, by making human hopes, human aspirations and human fear the target of your collective policy. Life is complex! The more we try to segment it and put it in little boxes and silos, it does not work that way.”
Nikhil Seth, UNITAR Director General, at the High-Level Discussion: The Role of Geneva in Placing Environment on the Highest Political Agenda, celebrating two decades of the Geneva Environment Network, International Environment House, 26 November 2019

“As an environmental economist, I believe that creative ways have to be explored so that the cost of conservation and enforcement are recognized. Custodians of wildlife and local communities play a vital role in managing wildlife and deserve to be rewarded. The contribution of conservation and legal wildlife trade to sustainable development is evident: it provides for our food, our well-being, our jobs and economic development.”
Ivonne Higuero, CITES Secretary General, at the Opening Ceremony of the 18th Meeting of the Conferences to the Parties of CITES, Palexpo, 17 August 2019

“We need to elaborate global rules for better governance of mineral resources. Mankind cannot hope for a plan B or a planet B.”
Marc Chardonnens, Director of the Federal Office for the Environment, at the World Resources Forum, International Conference Centre Geneva, 23 October 2019

“The real thing with transformation is that it means that you have to transform the system that you are working in, and if we are not transforming our own system, our own decision-making, we will never achieve transformation. If you are not transforming the system of decision-making, you will not transform the outcome of the decisions.”
Marie-Claire Graf, Vice-President, Swiss Youth for Climate, at the High-Level Discussion: The Role of Geneva in Placing Environment on the Highest Political Agenda, celebrating two decades of the Geneva Environment Network, International Environment House, 26 November 2019

“Switzerland and Geneva are committed to contribute to multilateral system. Geneva hosts around 40 International Organizations and 400 NGOs, as well as 179 states in expertise in all areas of today’s critical issues, and particularly on the environment. This positions Geneva as a hub for environmental governance.”
Antonio Hodgers, President of the Canton of Geneva, at the World Environment Day Roundtable on Clean Air, International Environment House, 3 June 2019

“It is my pleasure to welcome you in Geneva today. Geneva, which is a perfect place to develop and put in place new initiatives of cooperation. Geneva, which offers a privileged place of exchange of ideas among the scientific community, the UN agencies, the international organizations, the NGOs, the private sector and the 179 countries represented in Geneva.”
Alain Berset, Swiss Federal Councillor and Head of the Federal Department of Home Affairs, at the Opening Ceremony of the 18th Meeting of the Conferences to the Parties of CITES, Palexpo, 17 August 2019

“The International Environment House is a place where under a common roof a range of UN and non-governmental organizations are active in the field of environment and sustainable development. It is a symbol for a UN that is not restricting itself to its silos but open to engage and collaborate with other UN agencies and stakeholders.”
Sebastian König on behalf of H.E. Franz Perrez, Swiss Ambassador for the Environment, at the High-Level Discussion: The Role of Geneva in Placing Environment on the Highest Political Agenda, celebrating two decades of the Geneva Environment Network, International Environment House, 26 November 2019

2018 in Review

We thank you for your support and collaboration in 2018 and look forward to another exciting year.

Thousands of colleagues working for international organizations, forums, federations, academic institutions, business, non-governmental and governmental organizations contributed this year again to making Geneva a global hub for environmental governance. Congratulations for all the good work you do!

Click here for the list of events organized by the Geneva Environment Network in 2018.

Our selection of quotes for the year

“There’s no excuse any longer for saying we don’t understand how Human Rights apply to the environment.”
Professor John Knox, former Special Rapporteur on Human Rights & the Environment, during the launch of the United Nations Environment Programme Environmental Rights Initiative, March 2018

“At 2°C our islands will be under water!”
Young woman representative from the Marshall Islands, during the 1st-ever Climate Science & Humanitarian Dialogue, October 2018

“Governments must give priority to what is clean, not to what is not clean. Environmentally-oriented policies bring about massive added value for the economy.”
Bertrand Piccard, Initiator & Chairman of the Solar Impulse Foundation, during the WTO Trade Forum, October 2018.

“Half a degree matters, each year matters, each choice matters!”
Valérie Masson-Delmotte, co-chair of IPCC WGI for the AR6, during the presentation of the IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels at the 1st-ever Climate Science & Humanitarian Dialogue, October 2018

“The world has turned the corner on tobacco. Now it must do the same for the ‘new tobacco’ – the toxic air that billions breathe every day,” “No one, rich or poor, can escape air pollution. It is a silent public health emergency.”
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO’s director general, First WHO Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health, October–November 2018

“Humanity doesn’t own nature. Nature has rights. Rivers rights have been recognized by tribunals. Love nature. Think back at your happy times, chances are that you were somewhere with nature. Renaissance of nature is what we need.”
Inger Andersen, IUCN Director General, during the IUCN 70th Anniversary event “Nature’s contribution to the 2030 Agenda” at the Graduate Institute, October 2018

“The severity of the plastic pollution problem and its impacts on human health and the environment are undeniable and require urgent action. We cannot let a few countries or industries sectors prevent much-needed and overdue action from the global community.”
David Azoulay, Managing Attorney, CIEL, during the Basel Convention OEWG11, September 2018