Conference primer: Environment: Environment - 2023 Quarters 1 & 2

WMO is developing a concept for a sustained, internationally coordinated routine Greenhouse Gas Monitoring Infrastructure in consultation with a broad group of stakeholders from both scientific, operational, and policy-setting entities. This builds on WMO’s experience with the Global Atmosphere Watch and the Integrated Global Greenhouse Gas Information System, and it incorporates some of the operational practices and globally coordinated and agreed methods used in its World Weather Watch.

In February 2022, at the resumed fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2), a historic resolution (5/14) was adopted to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment with the ambition to complete the negotiations by end of 2024. The instrument is to be based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastic.
The rapidly increasing levels of plastic pollution represent a serious global environmental issue that negatively impacts the environmental, social, economic and health dimensions of sustainable development. Under a business-as-usual scenario and in the absence of necessary interventions, the amount of plastic waste entering aquatic ecosystems could nearly triple from some 9–14 million tonnes per year in 2016 to a projected 23–37 million tons per year by 2040.
View INC-1 youtube streaming links
Status of Contributions to the INC (as of 28 February 2023)
UNEP-INC Secretariat updated budget and secretariat structure (as of 01 March 2023)

Between April and September 2023, there will be two-day intergovernmental regional consultations dedicated to stocktaking of existing activities and actions in the public and private sectors to enhance the environmental sustainability of minerals and metals, including based on the outcomes of the implementation of the UNEA-4/19 resolution on mineral resource governance.

Following the regional consultations, a 2 day in-person global consultation will be held on 7th and 8th September 2023 in Geneva which will highlight the key findings of the regional consultations and provide an opportunity to gather additional feedback to potentially inform a co-chairs’ summary of outcomes. Participants will also be able to provide written input to the consultations prior to and after the consultations.

The detailed agenda of the two-day regional intergovernmental consultations and global intergovernmental meeting will be determined in due course in consultation with the co-chairs. Invitations will be sent out at least one month prior to the consultations.

The first edition of the report indicated that annual investments in nature-based solutions will have to triple by 2030 and increase four-fold by 2050 from the current investments into nature-based solutions of USD 133 billion (using 2020 as the base year).

Plastics are used extensively in farming, from plastic coated seeds to mulch film. They also make their way into biosolid fertilizer which is spread on fields. All these products have helped increase crop yields, but there is increasing evidence that degraded plastics are contaminating the soil and impacting biodiversity and soil health. This can lead to reduced productivity and could threaten long-term food security. As a finite resource which is under pressure, agricultural soil needs to be safeguarded from further degradation. Steps are being taken to improve the production and management of agricultural products containing plastics but there is also a need to look at a more holistic approach to food production, including nature-based solutions.

The working group will develop findings and recommendations to improve, as appropriate, the strategic framework for the period 2012–2021 for presentation to the thirteenth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group and the sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties.

Given the 3-day duration of the meeting, the Working Group will turn its attention to items in its work programme deemed to be of high or medium priority.
Venue: Geneva International Conference Centre (CICG), 17 rue de Varembé, Geneva, Switzerland.

The Geneva Environment Network (GEN) is a cooperative partnership of more than 100 environmental and sustainable development organizations based at the International Environment House in Geneva and at other locations in the surrounding region. Established in 1999, GEN organizes events and promotes awareness on environmental issues. The Secretariat is supported by the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment and is administered by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The latest available data and estimates for 92 environment relevant SDG indicators tell us that the world is not on track to achieve the environmental dimension of the SDGs by 2030. However, there is some positive news. Global data availability increased to 59% in 2022, from 34% in 2018 and 42% in 2020. Although only 38% of the environment-related indicators indicate environmental improvement, this is a solid improvement compared to only 28% in 2020.
These are only glimpses of the Measuring Progress: Water-related ecosystems and the SDGs report that informs on: (a) progress on the 92 environment-related SDG indicators, (b) interlinkages analysis between water-related indicators and other economic and social indicators, and (c) using big data and citizen science data to close the data gap.
This report builds upon insights and lessons learned from the Measuring Progress: Environment and the SDGs, and Measuring Progress: Towards Achieving the Environmental Dimension of the SDGs.