Conference primer - Environment & Climate Change: 2024

Paris, 8 March 2024 - The first ever Buildings and Climate Global Forum, organised by the French Government and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), concluded yesterday with the adoption by representatives of 70 countries of the Declaration de Chaillot, a foundational document for international cooperation that will enable progress towards a rapid, fair, and effective transition of the sector.

The UNEA resolution (5/14) requested the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) to convene an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to develop "the instrument," which is to be based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastic, including its production, design, and disposal.

Delegates tasked with crafting an international legally binding instrument to end the scourge of plastic pollution will respond to a Revised Zero Draft text in their penultimate meeting.

The 2023 Production Gap Report: “Phasing down or phasing up? Top fossil fuel producers plan even more extraction despite climate promises” finds that governments plan to produce around  110% more fossil fuels in 2030 than would be consistent with limiting warming to 1.5°C, and 69% more than would be consistent with 2°C.

In 2023, temperature records toppled, while storms, floods, droughts and heatwaves caused devastation. UNEP’s Adaptation Gap Report 2023: Underfinanced. Underprepared – Inadequate investment and planning on climate adaptation leaves world exposed finds that progress on climate adaptation is slowing when it should be accelerating to catch up with these rising climate change impacts.

Climate litigation represents a frontier solution to change the dynamics of the fight against climate change. This Global Climate Litigation Report: 2023 Status Review shows that people are increasingly turning to the courts to combat the climate crisis.
As of December 2022, there have been 2,180 climate-related cases filed in 65 jurisdictions, including international and regional courts, tribunals, quasi-judicial bodies, or other adjudicatory bodies, such as Special Procedures at the United Nations and arbitration tribunals. This represents a steady increase from 884 cases in 2017 and 1,550 cases in 2020. Children and youth, women’s groups, local communities, and Indigenous Peoples, among others, are taking a prominent role in bringing these cases and driving climate change governance reform in more and more countries around the world. This report, which updates previous United Nations Environment Programme reports published in 2017 and 2020, provides an overview of the current state of climate change litigation and an update on global climate change litigation trends. It provides judges, lawyers, advocates, policymakers, researchers, environmental defenders, climate activists, human rights activists (including women’s rights activists), NGOs, businesses and the international community at large with an essential resource to understand the current state of global climate litigation, including descriptions of the key issues that courts have faced in the course of climate change cases. This report further demonstrates the importance of an environmental rule of law in combating the triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. Access to justice enables the protection of environmental law and human rights and promotes accountability in public institutions. The report was launched in conjunction with the anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly’s recognition of the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment (A/RES/76/300), as the majority of cases brought before the courts demonstrate concrete links between human rights and climate change. The UNGA resolution, which recognises that climate change impacts have negative implications on the enjoyment of all human rights, is likely to drive further action on climate change in the future.

by identifying opportunities to drive and coordinate an inclusive collaborative approach towards implementation of the framework while respecting the respective mandates of biodiversity-related conventions and other relevant multilateral agreements and United Nations.
The primary objectives of the conference will be to:
- Identify opportunities to strengthen cooperation and collaboration among Parties to the MEAs in implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework at all appropriate levels.
- Make recommendations on further steps that could be taken in order to strengthen cooperation and collaboration while recognising the respective roles and mandates of all concerned.
- Share practical experiences of cooperation and collaboration in implementing MEAs that could be scaled up in appropriate circumstances.

The Bern III Conference will identify opportunities to foster and coordinate an inclusive and collaborative approach towards GBF implementation while respecting the mandates of biodiversity-related conventions and other relevant multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) and UN organizations.
IISD at Bern III Conference

The Committee is also expected to convene dialogues with the Basel Convention regional centres and other organizations on their activities aimed at supporting Parties in the implementation of their obligation to transmit national reports, at developing legal frameworks for the implementation of the Basel Convention, and at preventing and combating illegal traffic.The meeting is convened back to back with the fourteenth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group.

At the half-time point of the 2030 Agenda, the science is clear – the planet is far off track from meeting its climate goals. This undermines global efforts to tackle hunger, poverty and ill-health, improve access to clean water and energy and many other aspects of sustainable development, according to a new multi-agency report coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

It highlights past achievements, present progress and future potential - from the late 19th century telegraphs and shipping forecasts to supercomputers and space technology. The anniversary also serves as a reminder of our changing climate.

for achieving its five-year goal of the Early Warnings for All Initiative: to ensure that all people on Earth are covered by early warning systems by 2027.

managed by WMO Members and partner Organizations to be implemented, to evolve and to contribute fit-for-purpose observational data to all WMO applications.

and relevant operational organizations for applications related to weather, climate, water and the environment.

and facilitate their collaboration in developing standards for methods, procedures, techniques and practices, ensuring that their recommendations are provided to the WMO Congress and Executive Council.
SERCOM-3 will be held in person in Bali, Indonesia, from 4 to 9 March 2024, with the possibility of online participation for registered participants. SERCOM-3 will feature SERCOM Gender Action Day, a one-day conference dedicated to collaborating with WMO Members and partners to advance women’s leadership in disaster and climate risk reduction, share knowledge and facilitate exchanges on promoting Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment and Leadership through the Early Warnings for All initiative. ​

Backed by strong science, political resolve and engagement with society, the Assembly will be an opportunity for world governments, civil society groups, the scientific community and the private sector to shape the global environmental policy. As the planet’s only universal membership forum for the environment, UNEA provides a unique platform for courageous decisions and new ideas to chart a bold plan of collective environmental action. In so doing, UNEA-6 will support the achievement of the sustainable development goals.

As the Forum is also open to organizations that are not accredited by UNEP, it offers an opportunity for both accredited and non-accredited stakeholders to exchange perspectives among themselves and with representatives from the UNEP Secretariat and interested Member States. The primary objective is to foster dialogue and collaboration in addressing significant environmental issues within the framework of the UNEA-6 agenda. The Forum informs civil society stakeholders about existing and future UNEP policies. It also provides a platform for representatives from Major Groups to exchange ideas and find common ground in order to contribute to multi-stakeholder policy talks during UNEA. Preparatory Regional Consultative Meetings (RCMs) among civil society are held prior to the Forum to ensure that regional perspectives on all UNEP mandates are incorporated in UNEA.

To boost the effectiveness of the 1992 UNFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol was adopted in December 1997. It committed industrialized countries and countries in transition to a market economy to achieve quantified emissions reduction targets for a basket of six GHGs. The Kyoto Protocol’s first commitment period took place from 2008 to 2012. The 2012 Doha Amendment established the second commitment period from 2013 to 2020. In December 2015, parties adopted the Paris Agreement, which requires all parties to determine, plan, and regularly report on the nationally determined contribution (NDC) that it undertakes to mitigate climate change. Parties also submit aggregate progress on mitigation, adaptation, and means of implementation, which are reviewed every five years through a Global Stocktake.

To tackle climate change and its negative impacts, 196 countries adopted the Paris Agreement at the COP21 in Paris on 12 December 2015. Entered into force less than a year later, the deal aims to substantially reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and to limit the global temperature increase in this century to 2 degrees Celsius while pursuing means to limit the increase even further to 1.5 degrees. The agreement includes commitments from all major emitting countries to cut their climate-altering pollution and to strengthen their commitments over time. It provides a pathway for developed nations to assist developing nations in their climate mitigation and adaptation efforts while creating a framework for the transparent monitoring and reporting of countries’ climate goals.

Decision 15/15:
19. Recognizes the urgency to increase international biodiversity finance and to establish a dedicated and accessible fund in 2023 for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework that can quickly mobilize and disburse new and additional resources from all sources, commensurate with the ambition of the Framework;
20. Requests the Global Environment Facility to establish, in 2023, and until 2030 unless the Conference of the Parties decides otherwise, a special trust fund to support the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, to complement existing support and scale up financing to ensure its timely implementation, taking into account the need for adequacy, predictability, and timely flow of funds;

It is also the literal lifeblood of agriculture, the major socio-economic driver for billions of people. It can promote community stability and peacebuilding – especially in fragile situations – and contribute to migration management and disaster risk Water for Prosperity and PeaceSafe drinking water and sanitation are human rights. Without access to these services, a life of dignity, stability and good health is virtually impossible.Water, when managed sustainably and equitably, can be a source of peace and prosperity.

On estime que les sites du patrimoine mondial de l’UNESCO protègent plus de 20 000 espèces menacées à l’échelle mondiale et qu’ils abritent certains des derniers individus de nombreuses espèces emblématiques. Aujourd’hui, jusqu’à un tiers des éléphants, tigres et pandas restants se trouvent dans ces sites, ainsi qu’au moins un grand singe, une girafe, un lion et un rhinocéros sur dix. Pour certaines espèces en danger d'extinction, les sites du patrimoine mondial de l’UNESCO sont devenus la « dernière ligne de défense ». Ils abritent l'ensemble des rhinocéros de Java, des vaquitas (le plus petit cétacé au monde) et des iguanes roses, ainsi que plus de la moitié des rhinocéros de Sumatra, des orangs-outans de Sumatra et des gorilles des montagnes.

Cependant, la biodiversité dans les sites du patrimoine mondial de l’UNESCO est menacée par les pressions humaines et le changement climatique. Chaque augmentation de température de 1°C pourrait doubler le nombre d’espèces exposées à des conditions climatiques dangereuses. Il est urgent d'agir pour sauvegarder ces lieux uniques pour les générations futures.

Pour en savoir plus : https://www.unesco.org/en/biodiversity-conservation

Climate litigation represents a frontier solution to change the dynamics of the fight against climate change. This Global Climate Litigation Report: 2023 Status Review shows that people are increasingly turning to the courts to combat the climate crisis.
As of December 2022, there have been 2,180 climate-related cases filed in 65 jurisdictions, including international and regional courts, tribunals, quasi-judicial bodies, or other adjudicatory bodies, such as Special Procedures at the United Nations and arbitration tribunals. This represents a steady increase from 884 cases in 2017 and 1,550 cases in 2020. Children and youth, women’s groups, local communities, and Indigenous Peoples, among others, are taking a prominent role in bringing these cases and driving climate change governance reform in more and more countries around the world. This report, which updates previous United Nations Environment Programme reports published in 2017 and 2020, provides an overview of the current state of climate change litigation and an update on global climate change litigation trends. It provides judges, lawyers, advocates, policymakers, researchers, environmental defenders, climate activists, human rights activists (including women’s rights activists), NGOs, businesses and the international community at large with an essential resource to understand the current state of global climate litigation, including descriptions of the key issues that courts have faced in the course of climate change cases. This report further demonstrates the importance of an environmental rule of law in combating the triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. Access to justice enables the protection of environmental law and human rights and promotes accountability in public institutions. The report was launched in conjunction with the anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly’s recognition of the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment (A/RES/76/300), as the majority of cases brought before the courts demonstrate concrete links between human rights and climate change. The UNGA resolution, which recognises that climate change impacts have negative implications on the enjoyment of all human rights, is likely to drive further action on climate change in the future.

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.

Together with its Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers, it protects every person’s right to live in an environment adequate to his or her health and well-being. They are the only global legally binding global instruments on environmental democracy that put Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development in practice.

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 document represents 2050Today’s commitment to harnessing its influence and extensive network to unite institutions, along with key actors and stakeholders in International Geneva, in fostering sustainable practices and behaviours towards effective climate action.