Environment: What’s Up in GENeva | 26 July – 15 August 2021

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. During the COVID-19 pandemic, some live events organized by organizations around the world, contributing to the global environmental agenda, have also been included. The newsletter is issued bimonthly in July-August. Stay tuned and follow us also on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Youtube, or visit our website regularly for additional updates.

Due to the developments in the sanitary situation, various institutions in Geneva continue operating 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.

Image of the week | Basel Convention Plastic Waste Partnership Photography Exhibition “Plastic is Forever”, Rotonde du Mont-Blanc © UNEP, Malou Lenoir-Lasquite.

Online Segment of the 2021 BRS COPs

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 meetings of the Conferences of the Parties (COPs) to the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions have been scheduled into two segments: a one-week online meeting from 26-30 July 2021 and a two-week face-to-face meeting tentatively in June 2022, in Geneva. The theme of the meetings is “Global Agreements for a Healthy Planet: Sound management of chemicals and waste”.

In this week’s online segment, delegates will focus on prioritized agenda items necessary to ensure the continued operation of all three conventions. You can follow the main outcomes through the dedicated IISD Earth Negotiations Bulletin. Various interesting side events are also taking place this week:

Celebrating 20 years of the Stockholm Convention: looking into the next 20 years – BRS Secretariat & Geneva Environment Network, Tuesday 27 July, 14.00-15.00 CEST – Register
E-waste Basel Convention Amendment Proposal by Ghana and Switzerland – Switzerland & Ghana, Tuesday 27 July, 14.00-15.00 CEST – Register
Review of Annexes to the Basel Convention: recommendations for possible amendment proposals to Annex IV, A1180 and B1110 – EWG on RA (Chile & Estonia), Tuesday 27 July, 16.00-17.00 CEST – Register
Catalysing solutions for the ESM for waste mobile phones and computing equipment: Follow up Partnership to PACE – Working Group Follow up Partnership to PACE, Wednesday 28 July, 14.00-15.00 CEST – Register
Time to ENFORCE: Combatting an illegal traffic of hazardous and other wastes – ENFORCE, Wednesday 28 July, 14.00 to 15.00 CEST – Register
Exploring strategies to boost new POPs prevention. The case of PFAs – SCRC Spain, Wednesday 28 July, 16.00-17.00 CEST – Register
Basel Convention Plastic Waste Partnership (PWP) – Bureau of International Recycling & Norway, Wednesday 28 July, 16.00-17.00 CEST – Register
Tracing POPs in the environment – strategic partnerships, knowledge management and capacity building at the global scale – SCRC Czech Republic, Wednesday 28 July, 18.00-19.00 CEST – Register
Launching of Plastic Innovation Programme of GEF Small Grants Programme, UNDP – UNDP GEF Small Grants Programme, Thursday 29 July, 14.00-15.00 CEST – Register
Finding alternatives to highly hazardous pesticides – Experiences from African, Caribbean and Pacific countries – FAO, Thursday 29 July, 14.00 to 15.00 CEST – Register
The Plastic story: A landscape and life cycle journey – UNEP, GRID-Arendal & BRS, Thursday 29 July, 16.00-17.30 CEST – Register

Last chance to visit the Basel Convention Plastic Waste Partnership Photography Exhibition “Plastic is Forever” running until 29 July at Rotonde du Mont-Blanc.

Interested in plastics? CIEL is organizing a Twitter chat on 27 July to wrap up Plastic Free July and throw the spotlight on the need for a legally-binding international agreement on plastic.

Food Systems and the Environment

Food systems touch every aspect of our lives, affecting our health, environment, economies and cultures. Food systems also have the power to bring us together as families, communities and nations. Rebuilding the food systems will enable us to answer the UN Secretary-General’s call to “build back better” from COVID-19 and as we are all part of the food system, we all must come together to bring about the transformation that the world needs.

The Pre-Summit of the UN Food Systems Summit, hosted by Italy, is opened to all and taking in hybrid format from 26-28 July. It will set the stage for the culminating global event in September by bringing together diverse actors from around the world to leverage the power of food systems to deliver progress on all 17 SDGs. Various actors in Geneva are mobilized for the pre-summit and organizing online events. Read our update on Food Systems and the Environment providing more detailed information and a selection of events.

Earth Overshoot Day Back to 29 July

Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year. This year, it falls on 29 July.

From Thursday 29 July until the end of the year, humanity is drawing in the stock of natural resources that Earth accumulated. Today humanity uses the equivalent of 1.7 Earths per year. Our Update on Earth Overshoot Day lists tips and useful resources to help you taking steps to #MoveTheDate.

Physical Science Basis of Climate Change

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) meets this summer to approve the Summary for Policymakers (SPM) of the Working Group I (WG I) contribution to its Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) and accept the underlying scientific technical assessment, which focus on the physical science basis of climate change.

The approval process of the next report, “Climate Change 2021: the Physical Science Basis“, will be conducted in the context of the fourteenth session of WG I (WG I-14). After a short, opening on 26 July, the fifty-fourth session of the IPCC will reconvene on 6 August to formally accept the actions taken at WG I-14. The report will be released, subject to approval and acceptance by the Panel, on 9 August. The opening ceremony will be streamed live at 11:00 CEST, Monday 26 July.

Green Summer in Geneva

See our list of suggestions of environmental and nature-themed activities to safely entertaining this summer in Geneva: exhibitions, workshops, shows, contests, outdoor activities and online resources.

What (Else) Should I Read Next?

First Detailed Draft of the New Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework | UN CBD | 6 July
The Secretariat of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has released the first draft of a new global biodiversity framework, to guide actions worldwide through 2030, to preserve and protect nature and its essential services to people.
Draft UN biodiversity agreement falls short, says WWF | WWF | 12 July 2021
In WWF’s assessment, the current draft agreement, published by the Convention on Biological Diversity, lacks both the ambition and urgency required to reverse biodiversity loss and secure a nature-positive world this decade.
WTO members edge closer to fisheries subsidies agreement | WTO | 15 July 2021
The global trade body inched closer to an agreement that would set new rules for the global fisheries industry and limit government subsidies contributing to unsustainable fishing and the depletion of global fish stocks.
Push to ‘keep 1.5 alive’ heats up, 100 days from COP26 climate talks | Megan Rowling | Thomson Reuters Foundation | 22 July 2021
As climate change impacts get more severe, the urgency of keeping global warming to 1.5C is growing – and the race is on to secure the stronger pledges needed to cut emissions.
Oil, acid, plastic: Inside the shipping disaster gripping Sri Lanka | UNEP | 22 July 2021
The slick of oil leaking from the X-Press Pearl off the coast of Sri Lanka is a visceral reminder of what observers say is a slow-motion environmental disaster – one of the worst in the country’s history – and of the mammoth effort that will be needed to clean it up.
G20 Environment Communiqué | G20 | 22 July 2021
The G20 Environment Ministers’ Meeting ended on 22 July in Naples with the approval of an important joint communiqué, the outcome of weeks of negotiations. The document is based on three macro areas: Biodiversity, Efficient use of resources and circular economy, and Sustainable finance.
IUCN Director General’s open letter ahead of the G20 Environment Ministers’ Meeting | Bruno Oberle | IUCN | 20 July 2021
Ahead of the G20 environment minister’s summit that happened last week, IUCN Director General Oberli urges its members that now is the time to “invest in nature”.
Why Boreal Forests Matter: The Role of Boreal Forests in Sustainable Development | UNECE & FAO
This brief report provides a detailed communication note highlights those for which boreal forests are of greatest relevance, particularly in relation with the SDGs.