International Environmental Negotiations Agenda

Find information on environmental negotiations that took place in:

• 2023 on the dedicated update: International Environmental Negotiations Agenda 2023
• 2020-2022 on the dedicated update: International Environmental Negotiations Agenda 2021-2022.

UN Environment Assembly (UNEA)

UNEA-6

The 6th session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) will be held from 26 February to 1 March 2024 at UNEP headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya (decision 5/4 of 2 March 2022). Morocco was elected President of the Assembly.

The theme for UNEA-6 is “Effective, inclusive and sustainable multilateral actions to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution”.

UNEA-6 website
UNEA-6 theme | 6 February 2023

Towards UNEA-6 | Geneva Environment Network
UNEA-6 Geneva Briefing | 6 December 2023
UNEA-6 High-level Briefing | 6 February 2024

End Plastic Pollution: Towards an international legally binding instrument

In February 2022, at UNEA-5.2, a historic resolution (5/14) was adopted to develop a legally binding instrument on plastic pollution with the ambition to complete the negotiations by end of 2024.

4th Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4)

The fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) will take place within the period from 23 – 39 April 2024 at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa, Canada, preceded by regional consultations on 21 April 2024.

Notification | INC Secretariat

5th Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5)

The fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) is scheduled to take place from 25 November to 1 December 2024 in Busan, Republic of Korea.

Science-Policy Panel to contribute further to the sound management of chemicals and waste and to prevent pollution

Following UNEA resolution 5/8 entitled “Science-Policy Panel to contribute further to the sound management of chemicals and waste and to prevent pollution”, a science-policy panel is to be established to contribute further to the sound management of chemicals and waste and to prevent pollution.

OEWG-3

An ad hoc open-ended working group, mandated to prepare proposals for the science-policy panel, began work in 2022, with the ambition of completing it by the end of 2024. The third session of the ad hoc open-ended working group is scheduled to take place in Geneva from 17 to 21 June 2024.

Summit of the Future

The Summit of the Future, the high-level event gathering leaders and stakeholders globally to forge a new international consensus on how we deliver a better present and safeguard the future will take place from 22 to 23 September 2024 in New York, United States of America. One of the outcomes expected is an action-oriented Pact for the Future, expected to be agreed by Member States through intergovernmental negotiations taking place ahead of the Summit on issues they decide to take forward.

As part of the preparatory process of the Summit of the Future, intergovernmental consultations on a global digital compact and a declaration on future generations are being held, both of which would be annexed to the Pact for the Future if intergovernmentally agreed.

Scope of the Summit of the Future outcome document

United Nations Civil Society Conference

The UN Civil Society Conference is set to convene in Nairobi, Kenya, on 24 May 2024 with the central theme, “Summit of the Future”. The deliberations and outcome of the conference will serve as a valuable contribution for Member States as they work towards the Pact for the Future.

2024 Regional Forums on Sustainable Development

The 2024 Regional Forums on Sustainable Development organized by the UN Regional Commissions will serve as platforms for further engagement with stakeholders on the Pact for the Future. The Regional Forum for the Economic Commission for Europe is scheduled to take place 13 to 14 March 2024 in Geneva.

Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS MEAs)

UN Biodiversity Conference

The United Nations Biodiversity Conference will take place in Cali, Colombia from 21 October – 1 November 2024. The Conference encompasses the Sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 16), the Eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, and the Fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization. It will include a high-level ministerial segment.

Notification | 15 December 2023

26th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA 26)

The 26th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice will take place from 13 to 18 May 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya.

2nd meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Benefit-sharing from the Use of Digital Sequence Information on Genetic Resources

The 2nd meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Benefit-sharing from the Use of Digital Sequence Information on Genetic Resources will take place from 12 to 16 August 2024 in Montreal, Canada.

Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)

IPBES 11

The eleventh session of the IPBES Plenary (IPBES 11) is scheduled to take place from 10 to 16 December 2024 in Windhoek, Namibia.

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

Animal and Plants Committees

The 27th Meeting of the Plants Committee (PC27) and the 33rd Meeting of the Animals Committee (AC33) are scheduled to take place from 8 to 19 July 2024  in Geneva.

Standing Committee

The 78th meeting of the Standing Committee (SC78) will place in Geneva from 3 to 8 February 2025.

Conference of the Parties

The 20th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP20) is scheduled to take place in the second half of 2025.

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

IUCN World Conservation Congress

The IUCN World Conservation Congress 2025 — the general assembly of the Union’s members — is scheduled to take place from 9 to 15 October 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Press Release | IUCN

IUCN Council

The 111th Council meeting — IUCN’s principal governing body in between sessions of the World Conservation Congress — will take place from 14 to 16 May 2024 at the IUCN Headquarters in Gland, Switzerland.

Minamata Convention on Mercury

Minamata COP-6

The 6th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention is scheduled to take place from 3 to 7 November 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Convention)

Standing Committee

The 63rd meeting of the Standing Committee took place at Secretariat headquarters in Gland, Switzerland, from 3 to 7 June 2024.

Scientific and Technical Review Panel

The 26th meeting of the STRP (STRP26) took place at the Secretariat headquarters in Gland, Switzerland from 5 to 8 February 2024.

UN Convention on Climate Change

UNFCCC Conference of the Parties

COP29

The 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the UNFCCC will convene from 11 to 24 November 2024. It will take place in Azerbaijan.

Subsidiary Bodies for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) and Implementation (SBI)

SBSTA-60 / SBI-60

The 60th sessions of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) and Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) are scheduled to take place in June 2024 in Bonn, Germany.

Adaptation Forum

The Annual Adaptation Forum 2024 by the Adaptation Committee — the leading body under the United Nations providing coherence and guidance on adaptation — will take place from 18 – 19 March 2024 in Bonn, Germany.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Sixtieth Session of the IPCC (IPCC-60)

The sixtieth session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) took place in Istanbul, Türkiye from 16 to 19 January 2024.

IPCC website
IISD Earth Negotiations Bulletin coverage

UN Convention to Combat Desertification

UN Convention to Combat Desertification Conference of the Parties

COP-16

The 16th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP-16) will be held in Saudi Arabia from 2 to 13 December 2024.

Decision 34/COP.15

UN Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals

Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals

CMS COP14

The 14th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP14) took place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from 12 to 17 February 2024.

CMS Press Release | 17 February 2024
IISD Earth Negotiations Bulletin coverage

Vienna Convention and Montreal Protocol

Combined thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (13th COP) and thirty-sixth Meeting of the Parties (36th MOP)

The combined thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer (13th COP) and thirty-sixth Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (36th MOP) will take place from 28 October – 1 November 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand. This will be preceded by the joint bureau meeting of 12th COP and 35th MOP scheduled for 27 October 2024.

46th meeting of the Open-ended Working Group of the Parties

The forty-sixth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances the Deplete the Ozone Layer (46th OEWG) will take place from 8 – 12 June 2024 in Montreal, Canada.

12th Meeting of the Ozone Research Managers of the Parties to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer

The twelfth meeting of the Ozone Research Managers of the Parties to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer will take place from 24 – 26 April 2024 in Geneva.

UN Ocean Conference

2025 UN Ocean Conference

The UN General Assembly has decided to convene the high-level 2025 United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development in France, in June 2025, to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14. The Conference will be co-hosted by Costa Rica and France.

UNGA Resolution 77/40

UN Water Conference

UN 2026 Water Conference

On 1 September 2023, the UNGA adopted resolution 77/334 in which it decided to convene the UN Water Conference in 2026 and the UN Conference on the Final Comprehensive Review of the Implementation of the Objectives of the International Decade for Action, “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018–2028 in 2028.

International Labour Conference

The 112th Session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) will take place on 2 – 13 June 2024. The member States of the ILO meet at the Conference, held every year in Geneva, Switzerland, in the month of June.

World Health Organization

Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) for a WHO instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response

In December 2021, the World Health Assembly established an intergovernmental negotiating body (INB) to draft and negotiate a convention, agreement or other international instrument under the Constitution of the World Health Organization to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.

The eighth session of the INB (INB8) will take place from 19 February to 1 March 2024. The ninth session of the INB (INB9) will take place from 18 to 29 March 2024.

World Health Assembly

The seventy-seventh World Health Assembly (WHA77), the decision-making body of the World Health Organization, will take place in Geneva from 27 May to 1 June 2024.

WTO Ministerial Conference

13th Ministerial Conference (MC13)

The 13th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference (MC13) will take place from 26 to 29 February 2024 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Global Environment Facility

66th GEF Council Meeting

The sixty-sixth meeting of the Council — the GEF’s main governing body which comprises 32 members appointed by constituencies of GEF member countries — will take place from 5 to 9 February 2024 in Washington, DC.

International Conference on Small Island Developing States

The 4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) will be held from 27 to 30 May 2024 in St John’s, Antigua and Barbuda, under the overarching theme of “Charting the course toward resilient prosperity”.

Human Rights and the Environment

Relevant meetings taking place in Geneva in 2024 that may tackle the environmental agenda include:

• 22 January – 2 February | 45th session of the Working Group on Universal Periodic Review (WG UPR 45)
• 19 – 23 February | 31st session of the Advisory Committee of the Human Rights Council
• 20 – 23 February | 82nd meeting of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee
• 26 February – 5 April | 55th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC 55)
• 18 – 19 April | 14th meeting of the Protocol on PRTRs Compliance Committee
• 29 April – 10 May | 46th session of the Working Group on Universal Periodic Review (WG UPR 46)
• 13 – 17 May | 25th session of the Working Group on the Right to Development (WG on Right to Development 25)
• 10 – 14 June | Annual meeting of Special Procedure Mandate Holders
• 11 – 14 June | 83rd meeting of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee
• 18 June – 12 July | 56th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC 56)
• 2 – 4 July | 28th meeting of the Working Group of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention
• 8 – 12 July | 17th session of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP 17)
• 5 – 9 August | 32nd session of the Advisory Committee of the Human Rights Council
• 9 September – 9 October | 57th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC 57)
• 17 – 20 September | 84th meeting of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee
• 21 – 25 October | 10th session of the Open-ended intergovernmental working group on the legally binding instrument on TNCs (OEIGWG 10)
• 31 October – 1 November | 2024 Social Forum
• 4 – 15 November | 47th session of the Working Group on Universal Periodic Review (WG UPR 47)
• 5 – 6 November | 9th meeting of the Task Force on Access to Information under the Aarhus Convention
• 20 – 22 November | 11th meeting of the Working Group of the Parties to the Protocol on PRTRs and Global Round Table on PRTRs
• 21 – 22 November | 5th Forum on Human Rights, Democracy and Rule of Law: Democracy and climate change: focusing on solutions
• 25 – 27 November | 13th UN Forum on Business and Human Rights
• 9 – 12 December | 85th meeting of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee
• 9 – 12 December | 11th meeting of the Task Force on Public Participation in Decision-making

→ More information on Human Rights and the Environment.