Environment: What’s Up in GENeva | 19 – 25 August 2024

The Geneva Environment Network’s weekly newsletter includes the latest information on the global environmental agenda, main events, job vacancies, as well as other useful resources and updates. Stay tuned and follow us on X (Twitter), Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Youtube, or visit our website regularly for additional updates.

Image of the week | Two generations observing the Eaux Vives Lagoon during the outdoor visit Éveil du Léman organized by the Association pour la Sauvegarde du Léman. Since 2020, the morning visits have allowed participants to discover the flora and fauna of Lac Léman with experts on the subject. Discover upcoming visits and other outdoor activities to learn about biodiversity in Geneva and beyond in our Green Summer in Geneva 2024 update. © GEN, 16 August 2024.

Environment @ 57th Session of the Human Rights Council

The environment is high on the agenda of the 57th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC57), taking place in less than a month, from 9 September to 9 October 2024, at Palais des Nations. Toxics and human rights are the usual main environmental theme of the Council’s September sessions, with the UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights’ annual report to the Council. The human rights to water and sanitation, the rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the right to development, among others, are also environment-related issues presented by their respective United Nations Special Procedures, also in interactive dialogues with States, international organizations, human rights national institutions, and NGOs. → Regular updates on key environmental issues at HRC57, side events, and further resources will be made available on our dedicated HRC57 and the environment update.

To develop more synergies among stakeholders and a better outreach on the environmental agenda of HRC57, including the activities taking place in parallel to the Council’s session, the Geneva Environment Network and its partners are convening an information-sharing session. This event will discuss and share information on planned environment-related activities at and around HRC57, such as in-person and online events, publications, or exhibitions, among others, and exchange on possible synergies. They feed the GEN page on HRC57 which provides an updated calendar of these environment-related events. → Share your activities and events, and register for the event taking place in person at the International Environment House 1 or online on Thursday 22 August 2024, from 10:00 to 11:00 CEST.

It is also to be noted that this week, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to development, Surya Deva, is launching new series of events, “Development Dialogues“, which aim to provide a platform to discuss a range of topical issues related to the human right to development. The inaugural event of the series gathers experts around the table to answer questions on “Development, Debt and Degrowth: Role of the Pact for the Future“. → Register for the online event taking place on 20 August 2024, from 14:00 to 15:00 CEST.

Legally Binding Agreement to End Plastic Pollution | Road to Busan Via Bangkok

At the end of this week, nominated national and technical experts will gather in Bangkok, Thailand, for the in-person meeting of the two Ad Hoc Intersessional Open-ended Expert Groups established at the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, in the run-up to its fifth session (INC-5), to take place from 25 November to 1 December 2024 in Busan, Republic of Korea. The Co-Chairs have prepared two important documents for this in-person meeting taking place from 24 to 28 August: the Co-Chairs’ Synthesis Paper on Finance for group 1 and the Co-Chairs’ Synthesis Document for group 2. The outcomes will be presented in the form of Co-chairs’ reports for consideration by the Committee at INC-5. → Consult our regularly updated INC-5 page to learn more about preparations and the role of Geneva.

Save the Dates:

On the road to INC-5, the International Institute for Sustainable Development Earth Negotiations Bulletin (IISD ENB) and the Geneva Environment Network will hold the event “Plastics Treaty Talks: Updates and the View to the Finish Line” within the framework of the Geneva Beat Plastic Pollution Dialogues. This new dialogue will be taking stock of the in-person meeting of the Expert Groups and providing an overview on INC-5. → Save the date and register on Webex to attend the event on 5 September 2024 from 15:00 to 16:30 CEST.
Building on the decision A/HRC/56/L.23 on Plastic pollution implications on the full enjoyment of human rights taken at the 56th Session of the Human Rights Council (HRC56) — requesting the HRC Advisory Committee to prepare a comprehensive study on the implications of plastic pollution for the full enjoyment of human rights, based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastic — various side events on the interlinkages between plastics and human rights are expected to take place at the upcoming 57th session.

Recent news on plastics and the plastics treaty include:

The time for ambitious action is now: Science-based recommendations for plastic chemicals to inform an effective global plastic treaty | Susanne M. Brander, Kala Senathirajah, Marina O. Fernandez, Judith S. Weis et al. | Science of The Total Environment | 1 November 2024
US turns against plastic producers, boosting hopes for ambitious treaty | Climate Home News | 15 August 2024
CIEL Welcomes US’ Signaling a Change in Global Plastics Treaty Positions | CIEL | 14 August 2024
Exclusive-In shift, US backs global target to reduce plastic production, source says | Reuters | 13 August 2024
Global Plastic Treaty Africa Community Sensitisation Guidebook: 101 to Organising for the Global Plastics Treaty | GAIA & Break Free From Plastic | 13 August 2024

Unprecedented Heat and Weather Extremes

The Northern Hemisphere summer continues to be characterized by climate-induced extreme weather events and to cause important and sometimes irreversible changes across various ecosystems. Temperature and heat records keep being registered across the world. According to WMO, July 2024 was one of the hottest — if not the hottest — months on modern record, and the world’s hottest day was registered – yet another unwelcome indication of the extent that greenhouse gases from human activities are changing our climate. Climatologist Maximiliano Herrera found that 15 heat records have been broken around the world this year, marking an unprecedented number.

Effects of the extreme temperatures can be observed through the wildfires which, for example, in Greece affected at least 10,000 hectares, or the extraordinary rapidity at which European glaciers are melting. In Switzerland, glaciers have already transitioned into the phase of net loss for the year 2024 and the remaining warm summer days will continue the melting process, eroding the positive snow accumulation achieved during the year. The Mer de Glace glacier, above Chamonix, France, has retreated by 1 kilometer in 35 years (11 kilometers remain) and has lost 160 meters in thickness, making the glacier more distant every year.

To galvanize action and to address the challenges associated with melting glaciers and changes to the cryosphere, the 78th session of the UN General Assembly decided to proclaim the period from 2025 to 2034 as the Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences, 2025–2034 (A/78/L.99), with pledges to advance related scientific research and monitoring, under the overarching goal of advancing global scientific cooperation and sustainable development efforts.

Other recent news on climate change include:

Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change (Request for Advisory Opinion) Filing of written comments | ICJ Press Release | 16 August 2024
In the advisory proceedings on the Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change, 62 written comments have been filed in the Registry of the International Court of Justice. The public hearings on the request for an advisory opinion are scheduled to open on Monday 2 December 2024.
Les lacs suisses baignent dans une surchauffe inquiétante | Tribune de Genève | 16 August 2024
Les températures des eaux de Neuchâtel, de Zurich et du Léman sont quasi tropicales. Une bien mauvaise affaire pour l’écosystème lacustre.
Hurricanes are inevitable, but disasters are not: OpEd | Kamal Kishore, Elizabeth Riley, and Celeste Saulo | 15 August 2024
Hurricane Beryl, the strongest June hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic, was a powerful reminder of how a single landfalling tropical cyclone can turn back years of development. Beryl was fuelled by warm ocean temperatures and intensified rapidly – an increasingly frequent phenomenon as a result of climate change.
Heatwaves, extreme heat and climate change | Chatham House | 13 August 2024
Bold and decisive policies are critical to mitigate the escalating dangers of extreme heat and protect public and economic health – and to capitalize on the opportunities presented by a heat-resilient future.
Heat-related mortality in Europe during 2023 and the role of adaptation in protecting health | Elisa Gallo, Marcos Quijal-Zamorano, Raúl Fernando Méndez Turrubiates et al. | Nature Medicine | 12 August 2024
The study estimates 47,690 (95% confidence interval 28,853 to 66,525) heat-related deaths in 2023, the second highest mortality burden during the study period 2015–2023, only surpassed by 2022 and that the heat-related mortality burden would have been +80.0% higher in absence of present-century adaptation, especially in the elderly (+100.7% in people aged 80+ years).
Nature-based solutions are essential for climate and health action | Jemilah Mahmood, Nicaise Ndembi, Mariana M Vale et al. | The Lancet | 12 August 2024
As the health sector builds on these landmark achievements, it has the opportunity to embrace nature-based solutions—actions that protect, conserve, restore, sustainably use, and manage natural or modified ecosystems to deliver societal benefits—which are often not explicitly highlighted as priorities in intergovernmental decisions on climate and health.
How Close Are the Planet’s Climate Tipping Points? | New York Times | 11 August 2024
For the past two decades, scientists have been raising alarms about great systems in the natural world that warming, caused by carbon emissions, might be pushing toward collapse.
It’s time to give up the phrase ‘climate change’ | IAI News | 30 July 2024
In this interview IPCC Vice Chair Diana Urge-Vorsatz argues that we need to move beyond the phrase ‘climate change’ and instead build a positive story of climate change.

Right to Defend our Planet | Environmental Activists at Risk

Paul Watson, founder of the NGO Sea Shepherd, was arrested in Greenland on 21 July due to an Interpol Red Notice. This international arrest warrant, requested by Japan 12 years ago, is linked to his anti-whaling activities in the Antarctic. A group of journalists, activists, and human rights specialists is calling for its ‘unconditional and immediate’ release. Numerous articles have been published on this case.

Reacting to this arrest and the decision of the court decision that the activist should remain in custody until 5 September, pending a decision on his possible extradition to Japan, UN Aarhus Convention Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders, Michel Forst, highlighted in an interview with France Inter on 17 August “a real attack carried out internationally against biodiversity activists and environmental activists.” He pointed out that “the simple act of planning a demonstration can land you in prison for 5 years in Great Britain, and we see that in Germany, Spain, Switzerland, and other countries of the European Union, the situation of defenders is indeed quite worrying. There is a real reason to mobilize on an international level to better protect and better defend these people who are defending our environment, our future, our planet”.

Back to School But Still Time to Enjoy a Green Summer

While the new scholastic year for public schools in Geneva is starting again this week, various activities are still available to enjoy the long green summer days or the weekends. Suggestions for this week include:

Journey to the Maghreb: North African plant dedications | Discover the great names of North African botany, through plants dedicated to them at the Conservatory and Botanical Garden on Tuesday, 20 August 2024 at 12:30 CEST.
Soirée officielle de l’exposition photos « Coraux de mer Rouge » | On 21 August 2024 from 18:30 CEST, come discover the wonders of red corals through the exhibition located on Quai Wilson. Organized by Club Diplomatique de Genève, the official inauguration of the exhibition will feature speeches from organizers to be followed by a cocktail and a group visit of the panels.
Back to school party at the MEA | The Convergences Foundation organizes a back-to-school party at the MEA (Maison de l’enfance et de l’adolescence). On the program: Street arts, photo exhibition, animated films and Food and Beverage! Join on 21 August 2024 from 16:00 to 21:00 CEST.
La nuit des chauves-souris 2024 | Discover the unknown world of bats through the various activities organized to bust myth surrounding these animals and improve their protection. Join on 23 August 2024 from 18:00 to 22:00 at Parc des Evaux (Onex).
Faut pas en faire tout un fromage! | Join this joyous and gourmet event bringing together several Genevan brotherhoods and artisans on 24 August 2024 from 10:00 CEST in Dardagny.

Happening Abroad

World Water Week 2024 | With 15,000 registered participants, World Water Week 2024 will convene in Stockholm, Sweden and online from 25 to 29 August 2024. WWW24 is centered on water cooperation, for peace and security in its broadest sense. The theme, Bridging Borders: Water for a Peaceful and Sustainable Future, asks us to recognize the regional and global interconnectivity of communities and nations, and underscores the collaborative effort needed to achieve a peaceful and sustainable future. → Learn more in the programme.

What (Else) to Read Next?

Seven years of the Minamata Convention fighting toxic mercury and trade | Minamata Convention on Mercury | 16 August 2024
Since the ratification of the Minamata Convention on Mercury in August 2017, its Parties have been making efforts to tackle the pressing issues surrounding toxic mercury. This highly hazardous chemical, found in many sectors, from skin-lightening cosmetics to artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM), poses serious risks to both human health and the environment.
Mercury has long poisoned gold miners. This new strategy is helping change that | UNEP | 15 August 2024
“The global community is taking strong early steps to address mercury use across sectors. But the work is far from over,” says Monika Stankiewicz, the Executive Secretary of the Minamata Convention Secretariat. “Creating new financial opportunities for those engaged in mining will accelerate the move away from mercury, leaving both people and the planet healthier.”
The evolving landscape of sustainable trade. Voluntary sustainability standards and sustainable development due diligence | UN Trade and Development | 14 August 2024
To address sustainability issues in global value chains, many voluntary governance instruments have been developed, such as voluntary sustainability standards (VSS). Such VSS have been at the forefront of sustainable GVCs governance for the past two decades. However, these voluntary instruments have overall fallen short of generating large-scale transformative changes, partly due to a relatively limited uptake. As a result, many sustainability concerns remain.
Project 2025 promises billions of tonnes more carbon pollution – study | The Guardian | 13 August 2024
The impact of Donald Trump enacting the climate policies of the rightwing Project 2025 would result in billions of tonnes of extra carbon pollution, wrecking the US’s climate targets, as well as wiping out clean energy investments and more than a million jobs, a new analysis finds.
Gravely concerned”: 77 world leaders and Nobel laureates sound alarm on UN Summit not mentioning fossil fuels | Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty | 13 August 2024
As governments prepare to gather for this September’s Summit of the Future – a high-level UN meeting that aims to “deliver a better present and safeguard the future” – recent negotiations have removed two words from the draft outcome: fossil fuels. In response to this glaring omission, a distinguished group of 77 former world leaders and Nobel laureates have sent a powerful letter to governments.
Investors Support Amazon Reforestation Through Record Breaking USD 225 Million World Bank Outcome Bond | World Bank | 13 August 2024
The World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, IBRD) priced a 9-year USD 225 million, principal-protected Amazon Reforestation-Linked Bond. It is the first bond linking investors’ financial return to the removal of carbon from the atmosphere, differing from past transactions linked to the sale of carbon credits from avoided emissions.
Decarbonization of the Mining Sector: Scoping study on the role of mining in nationally determined contributions | IGF | July 2024
This report critically examines the mining sector’s role in the global energy transition and its alignment with international climate commitments. Recognizing the urgent need to decarbonize to address climate change, this scoping study provides an in-depth analysis of the mining industry’s current status, challenges, and opportunities in participating in the global effort to curb greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.