Environment: What’s Up in GENeva | 16 – 22 November 2020

The Geneva Environment Network weekly newsletter includes updates on global environmental agenda, main events, job vacancies expiring soon, learning opportunities, as well as other useful news and updates. During the COVID-19 pandemic, some live events organized by organizations around the world, contributing to the global environmental agenda, have also been included. Stay tuned and follow us also on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or visit our website regularly for additional updates.

Due to the developments in the sanitary situation, most institutions of international Geneva are operating fully virtually. Our Update on COVID-19 and the environment lists relevant information, research, data and press releases on the environmental origins and impacts of the pandemic.

WTO Trade and Environment Week

This week, join WTO online for the Trade and Environment Week 2020. This forum will explore issues at the forefront of the trade and environment agenda, showcase successful experience on how to make global trade more sustainable resilient and inclusive, and exchange concrete ideas on the role of trade and the WTO in building back greener from the COVID-19 crisis. A series of events and workshops will be led by WTO Members, along with a high-level session co-hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme and the WTO Secretariat. Events throughout the week are held in conjunction with WTO Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE), whose second meeting of the year will start on 16 November and resume on 20 November 2020. #TradeandEnvironment

Water | Agenda of the Week

Ask Your Must Difficult Question About the Water Convention

The launch of a new report “Frequently Asked Questions on the 1992 Water Convention”, organized within the framework of the Geneva Environment Network, will take place online on Tuesday 17 November, from 11:00 to 12:30 CET. The launch event is an opportunity for governmental experts and non-governmental stakeholders to ask their questions about the benefits of participation in the Convention and its relevance for countries sharing transboundary basins, as well as about the Convention’s legal provisions and institutional mechanism. The launch event will highlight the tools and mechanisms available to support countries preparing for accession to the Convention. Register on webex to join the discussion and ask us your most difficult question about the Water Convention. #WaterConvention

Launch of the Sanitation and Hygiene Fund

The Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) is evolving into the Sanitation and Hygiene Fund. Currently, more than 4 billion people globally do not have access to safely managed sanitation services. 3 billion lack access to basic handwashing facilities, and nearly 10 percent of the world’s population still practice open defecation. To reach the SDG 6.2 target of safely managed sanitation, there is an urgent need to globally prioritize sanitation, hygiene and menstrual health. By raising and investing the necessary funding, the Sanitation and Hygiene Fund, to be launched on Tuesday 17 November at 16:00 CET, will bring change and drive this transformation. It is seeking US$2 billion over the coming five years to provide a 21st-century solution to the decades-old crisis on sanitation, hygiene and menstrual health. #SHFLaunch

World Toilet Day

The World Toilet Day celebrated on 19 November aims at raising awareness of the billions people living without access to safely managed sanitation. This year the theme insists on the importance of sustainable sanitation and climate change, and its impacts – flood, drought, and rising sea levels – threatening sanitation systems – from toilets to septic tanks to treatment plants. Floodwater can contaminate wells used for drinking water or flooding might damage toilets and spread human waste into communities and food crops, causing deadly and chronic diseases. Everyone must have sustainable sanitation, alongside clean water and handwashing facilities, to help protect and maintain our health security and stop the spread of deadly infectious diseases such as COVID-19. Learn more about water and sanitation in our update on COVID-19 and the Environment. #WorldToiletDay

Climate | International Geneva Racing to Zero

The Race to Zero Dialogues, running until 19 November, are critical inputs to the UNFCCC Climate Dialogues taking place from 23 November to 4 December, to accelerate progress to meet the Paris Agreement. #RaceToZero

Various actors of International Geneva are contributing to the Race to Zero Dialogues. This week the topics addressed are Energy, Regenerative Resilient Food Systems, Build Environment & Cities and Regions, and Finance. Find here a selection of sessions involving organizations from International Geneva.

Last week, UN Secretary-General António Guterres stressed the need for greater speed to achieve carbon neutrality and called all governments, cities, financial institutions and private businesses to establish their transition plans for net zero emissions by 2050, and start with concrete policies now. International Geneva is mobilized for zero net emissions by 2050 with the 2050Today initiative launched by Switzerland with the Permanent Missions of Denmark, Fiji, France, Mexico, Morocco, Rwanda and Slovenia, UNOG, UNEP and Greening the Blue.

Global Environmental Data Strategy @ IGF2020

The Fifteenth Annual Meeting of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) hosted by the United Nations under the overarching theme Internet for human resilience and solidarity, will end on 17 November. Various sessions focused on the environment, aiming at understanding the interdependences between the use of Internet and digital technologies to protect the environment, and also to threaten its sustainability. On Tuesday 17 November at 17:00 CET, a High-Level Leaders Track Session on Environment will discuss the future of global environmental data governance in the age of uncertainty. #IGF2020

UN EMG Nexus Dialogue on Mineral Resource Governance

The UN EMG Mineral Resource Governance Nexus Dialogue, to be held on Tuesday 17 November from 14:00 to 16:00 CET, pursues the strategic implementation of a resolution on mineral resource governance (UNEP/EA.4/Res.19) adopted during the fourth UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-4) which recognizes the important contribution of mining towards the SDGs, and the dependence of low-carbon clean technologies on metals and minerals.

Wednesdays for the Planet

Join us on Wednesday afternoons for virtual discussions with experts and screenings highlighting the natural world and other environmental challenges our planet faces. #Wednesday4Planet

This week, we are hosting a virtual discussion on the film Thus Spoke the Sea by Haitian filmmaker Arnold Antonin, in partnership with UNEP Crisis Management Branch and UNEP in Haiti. The Haitian Sea, as you’ve never seen or heard it before. In this documentary, the Sea tells its story with the Haitian people. Wave after wave, the Sea showcases its riches, reveals its mysteries, and raises the alarm. Attendees are invited to watch the documentary online prior to the live virtual discussion and register on Webex to join the discussion from 13:30 to 14:30 CET.

What (Else) Should I Read Next?

PAGE announces first recipients of green recovery funds | PAGE | 11 November 2020
PAGE is announcing the first wave of green recovery funds for five partner countries — Senegal, Argentina, South Africa, Brazil (Mato Grosso) and Thailand.
End plastic waste trade for a healthier future | Inger Andersen and Pamela Coke-Hamilton | Bangkok Post | 9 November 2020
The Executive Director of the UNEP and the Executive Director of the International Trade Centre are underlining that trade agreements cannot ignore environmental commitments and calling to end plastic waste trade.
Wildlife and forestry crime: Worldwide seizures in global INTERPOL-WCO operation | Interpol | 9 November 2020
Coordinated by INTERPOL and the World Customs Organization (WCO), Operation Thunder 2020 rallied 103 countries against environmental crime. The month-long police and customs cross border operation resulted in more than 2,000 seizures of wildlife and forestry products, triggering arrests and investigations worldwide.
Summary of the 4th Meeting of the Ad-hoc Open-ended Expert Group on Marine Litter and Microplastics (AHEG-4) | Earth Negotiations Bulletin | 13 November 2020
The group considered a revised draft of the Chair’s summary. Several delegations supported the summary as a balance of views shared during the entire AHEG process, acknowledging that the document was not a negotiated outcome. Others reiterated their hope that the summary would include stronger language on the need to establish a negotiating process towards a new global agreement on plastic pollution.
UN Special Rapporteur Emphasizes Right to Science in Managing Toxics | IISD | 11 November 2020
The human rights implications of chemicals and waste management were a topic of interest at a briefing organized by the Geneva Environment Network presenting two new UNEP Reports.
Pushing for the Environment at the United Nations: An Inside Look at the 45th Human Rights Council | Suzanne Astic | CIEL | 11 November 2020
Governments and other stakeholders can’t afford to deal with the environment and human rights as separate issues any longer. The Human Rights Council (HRC) represents a promising yet challenging space to connect these two areas of work on an international scale.