Environment: What’s Up in GENeva this Week | 8-14 June 2020

Continuing the Momentum #ForNature

Act #ForNature Forum

The Act #ForNature Forum, initially scheduled to take place physically in Oslo, is going virtual until Wednesday 10 June. The forum is part of the preparatory process for the 5^th session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5), the world’s highest-level decision-making body on the environment. It is building on the momentum created by World Environment Day, last Friday, and bringing together citizens, government and non-governmental organizations, businesses and scientific institutions from around the globe to engage in a series of open and inclusive discussions across a diverse range of topics from healthy ecosystems and marine plastics to global food systems, youth and more.

Various experts from International Geneva are taking part in this major event. The Geneva Environment Network hosted a dialogue describing the Forum and its programme on 2 June.

Oceans Day

The United Nations celebrates World Oceans Day every year on 8 June. Many countries have celebrated this special day since 1992, following the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro. Various events are scheduled to take place during the day, including a global virtual event in celebration of the 2020 theme, Innovation for a Sustainable Ocean, from 16:00 to 23:00 CEST.

Sea levels are rising due to climate change. Oceans are becoming more acidic & teeming with plastic. As we work to end the COVID-19 pandemic & build back better, we have an unprecedented opportunity to protect the ocean on which millions of lives and livelihoods depend.
Watch UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, on World Oceans Day 2020

Additional ‘Live’ Events

During the COVID-19 pandemic lock-down, relevant live events organized by organizations around the world, contributing to the global environmental agenda, have also been included in the newsletter.

The Swiss Federal Council decided to ease the measures to fight the pandemic as of 6 June and recommended the continuation of telecommuting when possible. Most UN personnel in Geneva will therefore continue to operate virtually. Numerous closed, semi-closed or open live events are taking place this week. Consult the events section of this newsletter to see the full list. Among these: GGKP Webinar | Sustainability After COVID-19: Building resilient supply chains through resource efficiency (9 June); Gender, Climate and Security: Presenting the Evidence (9 June); Climate and Security: Advancing A Gender Lens (11 June).

Please note that the list of events and vacancies provided in our weekly newsletter is non-exhaustive. Stay tuned and follow us also on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or visit our website regularly for additional updates.

COVID-19 & the Environment

The COVID-19 pandemic is a crisis that affects everyone. As the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, said

The pandemic has exposed the fragility of our societies and economies to global shocks, such as disease or climate disruption. As we recover, we must build back better for people and for the planet.

The Secretary General keeps reminding us, that we have a framework for action – the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

Our “Latest updates on COVID-19 and the environment” page, lists relevant information, research, data and press releases on the environmental origins and impacts of the pandemic. Among the press releases and articles issued last week:

COVID-19 Is a Symptom of a Bigger Problem: Our Planet’s Ailing Health | Inger Andersen and Johan Rockström | Times | 5 June 2020
Coronavirus is an ‘SOS signal for the human enterprise’ | Damian Carrington | The Guardian | 5 June 2020
Coronavirus shows we must change our economy to recognise that human wealth depends on nature’s health | Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta, Inger Andersen | Independent | 5 June 2020
Protect the environment, prevent pandemics, ‘nature is sending us a clear message’ | UN News | 4 June 2020
Make transformative changes to protect environment or endure incalculable suffering – UN rights expert | SR Environment | 4 June 2020
“We are very worried about Covid-19 spreading to great apes” – IUCN Geneva. Kyra Dupont | Geneva Solutions | 2 June 2020
No vaccine will protect us against climate change | Robert Hamwey and Timothy Sullivan | UNCTAD | 5 June 2020
Global institutions unite for a green and fair COVID recovery | Partners for Inclusive Green Economy | 5 June 2020
Businesses call on government to deliver on green promises | Maria Mendiluce (We Mean Business Coalition) | apolitical | 5 June 2020
#TheGreatReset | The Prince of Wales | HRH’s Sustainable Markets Initiative & World Economic Forum | 3 June 2020
The Planet After the Pandemic | André Hoffmann | Project Syndicate | 2 June 2020
Earthjustice Responds to Trump’s Rollback of Northeast Canyons and Seamount National Marine Monument. Earthjustice | 5 June 2020
Grasp the silver lining of the COVID-19 pandemic | Kamal Gueye | ILO | 5 June 2020

The Geneva Environment Dialogues special COVID-19 series, discusses the impacts of the pandemic on the global environmental agenda.

What (Else) Should I Read Next?

Record CO2 levels and temperatures highlight need for action on World Environment Day | WMO | 5 June 2020
May 2020 was the warmest May on record, according to one internationally recognized dataset.
Major diesel fuel leak in Russian Arctic threatens vulnerable rivers, lakes, wildlife and Indigenous Peoples | WWF Artic | 4 June 2020
President Vladimir Putin declared a national state of emergency today after 20,000 cubic meters of diesel fuel spilled into the Daldykan and Ambarnaya rivers in northern Russia.
Guidance on Mainstreaming Biodiversity for Nutrition and Health | WHO | 5 June 2020
This report aims to support countries in the necessary transition toward healthier, more sustainable diets by integrating biodiversity in food-based interventions to support nutrition and health.
Launch of a new ‘Global Initiative to End Wildlife Crime’ | 5 June 2020
A broad alliance of environmental, policy, legal, business & public health experts who have come together to encourage States to fill serious gaps in international law.
Earth Overshoot Day 2020 is 22 August | 5 June 2020
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. The pandemic has caused the humanity ecological footprint to contract. However, true sustainability that allows all to thrive on Earth can only be achieved by design, not disaster.
‘Going in the Wrong Direction’: More Tropical Forest Loss in 2019 | Henry Fountain | The New York Times | 2 June 2020
Brazil was responsible for more than a third of the total global loss in 2019
Berta Cáceres was exceptional. Her murder was all too commonplace | Nina Lakhani | The Guardian | 2 June 2020
The powerful forces behind the death of the Honduran indigenous leader are still targeting human rights defenders and environmental campaigners like her.
‘Earth School’ gives students in lockdown a closeup look at nature | UNEP | 5 June 2020
The initiative was developed in just three weeks by UNEP and TED-Ed. The goal was to create a platform that would connect kids with the nature while locked down at home.
170 Actions to Combat Climate Change | UNOG Perception Change Project | 5 June 2020
New website, part of the “170 Series” launched by the UNOG Perception Change Project, providing 10 suggestions for each of the 17 SDG goals about what can be one on a daily basis to protect the environment and help mitigate climate change effects.
World Environment Day messages from Head of Organizations in Geneva and other resources | 5 June 2020