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Newsletter 22 Apr 2024

Environment: What’s Up in GENeva | 22 – 28 April 2024

The Geneva Environment Network’s weekly newsletter includes the latest information on the global environmental agenda, main events, job vacancies, learning opportunities, 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 | A view of the Jet d’eau from Pont de la Machine, taken on a cool spring day. © UNEP/GEN, April 2024

All Eyes on Ottawa for the Plastics Treaty New Round of Negotiations

Numerous experts from international Geneva are in Ottawa, Canada, this week, attending the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to Develop an International Legally Binding Instrument on Plastic Pollution, Including in the Marine Environment (INC-4). → Follow the negotiation on UN TV and through the IISD Earth Negotiations Bulletin daily coverage, and learn more about the role of Geneva and other news on the dedicated page Towards Plastics Pollution INC-4

During the intersessional period between INC-3 and INC-4, Geneva stakeholders have demonstrated their engagement and contributed to advancing discussions and knowledge, including by participating in the multiple sessions of the Geneva Beat Plastic Pollution Dialogues.  Pre-INC-4 sessions featured in-depth discussions on key aspects for an ambitious treaty such as health impacts, trade, resource mobilization and financial measures, climate change, biodiversity, science and chemicals, human rights, public opinions and ultimately treaty-specific measures, criteria, and options:

Recent news on INC-4 and plastics include:

Safety and Health at Work in the Face of Climate Change

World Day for Safety and Health at Work is celebrated yearly on 28 April to promote the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases globally. Held under the theme, “The impacts of climate change on occupational safety and health“, this year’s commemoration of Safe Day, to be held on Thursday 25 April, will include the launch of the International Labour Organization new report, “Ensuring safety and health at work in a changing climate”.

In the face of intensifying climate change, the new report reveals alarming new data on the impact of climate change on workers’ safety and health, as workers around the globe find themselves at an increased risk of exposure to hazards such as excessive heat, ultraviolet radiation, extreme weather events, air pollution, vector-borne diseases and agrochemicals. → Follow the global event launching the report with experts and guest speakers from governments, employers and workers on Thursday 25 April 2024 from 13:30 to 15:00 CEST

Addressing Climate Action in International Geneva

The numerous international organizations, permanent missions, non-governmental organizations and other institutions based in Geneva place the climate issue at the heart of their work. 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, this theme being on the agenda of numerous deliberations. Various events this week in International Geneva will address climate action, including:

  • WMO European State of the Climate 2023 | Following an intense period of work from scientists across the climate community, anticipation is building as the release of the European State of the Climate 2023 report draws near. This year’s report is produced for the first time through a partnership between the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S*) and the World Meteorological Organization. This eagerly awaited publication will deliver a comprehensive analysis of Earth’s climate throughout 2023 and place it within the historical context. → Follow the launch on Monday 22 April 2024
  • Laudate Deum: Apostolic Exhortation to all people of good will on the climate crisis and the outcomes of COP28 | The UN Food and Agriculture Organization Liaison Office in Geneva, UN Environment Programme, the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the UN office and other international organizations in Geneva and the Caritas in Veritate Foundation are organizing a dialogue that aims to further inter-institutional collaboration and accelerate needed actions to tackle the climate crisis. The event will examine the messages and recommendations of “Laudate Deum” as well as discuss progress made by the COP28 in terms of climate actions related to food security and the sustainability of food systems, and how they align with UNEP and support offered to Members. The event will also address the role that religious organizations can play in stimulating or driving action to address climate change. → Join the dialogue on Tuesday 23 April 2024, from 11:30 to 13:30 CEST. Register for in-person attendance at Palais des Nations, Room XXIII or online attendance via Zoom.
  • WHO Technical Webinar Series on Climate Change and Health | The World Health Organization (WHO) is launching a series of technical webinars on various climate change and health topics with the aim of building capacity for implementation at country level. These webinars will integrate training, experience sharing, interactive activities, and group discussion. The first webinar launching the series will tackle climate change and health vulnerability & adaptation assessments. → Join the webinar on 24 April 2024 from 9:30 to 11:00 CEST or from 15:00 to 16:30 CEST.

→ Learn more about how stakeholders from International Geneva are mobilized to tackle climate change.

Assuring Sustainability in Resource Management

The environment is high on the agenda of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Resource Management Week 2024, which is taking place this week at Palais des Nations, Room Tempus, from 22 to 26 April 2024, including the 15th session of the Expert Group on Resource Management (EGRM-15). Leaders, experts, and stakeholders in resource management will gather to discuss sustainable development challenges and opportunities, as they tackle minerals for the energy transition, responsible resource management, and more. This year’s theme, “Assuring sustainability in resource management”, will focus on the UN Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC) and the UN Resource Management System (UNRMS) and their pivotal role in resource management worldwide.

Critical energy transition minerals are also on the agenda of the UN Trade and Development Trade and Development Commission this week. The Commission will discuss pathways available to member States to navigate the challenges raised by increasing demand for critical energy transition minerals and propose policy options to shape a future where critical energy transition minerals not only power global clean energy aspirations but also contribute to industrialization, responsible resource management and sustainable, inclusive economic growth for developing countries.

→ As extraction of mineral resources has risen markedly in recent decades and is expected to continue, learn more about the role of International Geneva in mineral resource governance.

International Mother Earth Day

On 22 April, the international community celebrates International Mother Earth Day or Earth Day, in recognition that the Earth and its ecosystems are our common home. This year is the third Mother Earth Day celebration within the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. As ecosystems support all life on Earth, the healthier our ecosystems are, the healthier the planet – and its people. Restoring our damaged ecosystems will help to end poverty, combat the triple planetary crisis, and prevent mass extinction. → Learn more about Earth Day and answer the rallying call for the protection and revival of ecosystems all around the world, for the benefit of people and nature.

This year, EarthDay.org also emphasizes its collective commitment to end plastics for the sake of human and planetary health. As such, in celebration of Earth Day 2024, the collective is raising awareness of the harm plastics bring to human and biodiversity health and is demanding a 60% reduction in the production of all plastics by 2040. → Learn more about the Planet v. Plastics movement.

Internship Opportunity with the GENeva Environment Network

The Geneva Environment Network has opened a new internship position in event planning. With various environmental topics being tackled by multitudes of organizations in Geneva, this internship is an opportunity to help in increasing cooperation and networking among stakeholders. → If you are interested in the environment and multilateralism in International Geneva, keen to plan and support events, and fulfill the requirements, apply through the UN Careers portal by 29 April 2024.

Happening Abroad

Escazú Agreement COP3 | The third meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean – also known as the Escazú Agreement – will take place from 22 to 24 April 2024 in Santiago, Chile. A landmark agreement for the region, the treaty is the first legally binding instrument to include specific provisions for the protection and promotion of human rights defenders in environmental matters, under Article 9 “Human rights defenders in environmental matters”. In support of the implementation of Article 9, one of the main objectives for this meeting will be the consideration and approval of the Action Plan on Human Rights Defenders in Environmental Matters, prepared in a participatory process under the leadership of the ad hoc Working Group coordinated by Chile, Ecuador and Saint Kitts and Nevis.

23rd Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII 23) | The session is taking place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 15 to 26 April 2024. The UNPFII is one of three UN mechanisms specifically addressing Indigenous Peoples’ issues, focusing on economic and social development, culture, education, environment, health, and human rights. The theme of the 23rd session is “Enhancing Indigenous Peoples’ right to self-determination in the context of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: emphasizing the voices of Indigenous youth”.

15th Petersberg Climate Dialogue | The 15th Petersberg Climate Dialogue to be held in Berlin, Germany, on 25 and 26 April 2024, will gather high-level representatives from 40 countries to discuss concrete steps towards overcoming the climate crisis and discuss the central challenges of international climate policy at a political level. The event will be preceded by a warm-up event on 23 April. To be attended by the COP Presidencies Troika — comprising the United Arab Emirates COP28 Presidency, the Azerbaijani COP29 Presidency, and the Brazilian COP30 Presidency — the dialogue aims to strengthen confidence both in multilateral climate negotiations and between countries ahead of the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP29) that will take place in November 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

What (Else) to Read Next?

Events

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Afterwork

Festival Explore 2024

20 – 27 Apr 2024

Various Locations

Republic and State of Geneva

Climate | Green Economy | Health and Environment | Nature

SDG3 | SDG11 | SDG12 | SDG13

Virtual

Launch of the ECO-SOLVE Programme

24 Apr 2024 15:00 – 17:00

Online

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

Environmental Law | Nature

SDG12 | SDG15 | SDG14

Workshop

Atelier 2tonnes

24 Apr 2024 18:30 – 21:30

Espace 3DD

2tonnes

Climate

SDG11 | SDG13

Jobs

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Learning

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Updates

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17 Apr 2024

Ongoing Contests

Climate | Nature | Chemicals and Pollution

SDG11 | SDG12

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