Archives
58th Meeting of the GEF Council
The Global Environment Facility Council's 58th meeting appointed a new CEO and Chairperson. Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, Costa Rica's Environment and Energy Minister, will lead the GEF, with Naoko Ishii leaving after eight years. The GEF Council also agreed a work program with resources totaling USD 645.4 million. The GEF Council met online for the first time due to COVID-19.
June Momentum for Climate Change
While a face-to-face meeting was impossible, the UNFCCC held a series of virtual events to keep climate action and momentum alive. Several events related to the work of the constituted bodies, which are the bodies that focus on implementing various aspects of the Convention and the Paris Agreement. These technical bodies provided updates on their work and future plans.
11th Meeting of the Monaco Blue Initiative
The 11th meeting of the Monaco Blue Initiative (MBI) convened for its first-ever digital edition under the presidency of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco. The workshops were held with the objective of maintaining momentum on global discussions on oceans, and articulate key recommendations to important global ocean meetings, many of which have also been affected by the global pandemic.
Innovating Climate Change Adaptation through Agroecology
The consultations, organized by the Berlin-based think tank for sustainability, TMG Research, took place virtually over the course of three days to discuss and further develop a paper with key messages on agroecology as a systemic approach to climate change adaptation for food security and rural livelihoods.
Informal Consultations of the 44th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (Beijing+5 PrepCom)
The PrepCom for Beijing+5 reconvened on Wednesday, 24 May 2020, to continue discussing the proposed outcome document (E/ CN.6/2000/PC/L.1/Rev.3), following negotiations from 28 February to 17 March , and intersessionals on 8, 9, 11, 15 and 16 May. From 24-26 May, Working Group I discussed Section II and Working Group II discussed Section IV. Of approximately 302 paragraphs, 58 have been agreed.
15th Session of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF15)
The UN Forum on Forests was scheduled to convene from 4-8 May 2020 in New York but became yet another casualty of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of meeting in person, the Forum held virtual informal consultations and adopted an omnibus resolution that ensures continued progress on the UN forest agenda.
52nd Session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC-52)
During the week-long meeting, participants agreed on an outline for the Synthesis Report of the Sixth Assessment Report, engaged in detailed consideration of the organization of future work in light of the Global Stocktake (GST) under the Paris Agreement, and also adopted the Gender Policy and Implementation Plan.
2nd Meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework
At its second meeting, the Working Group commented on the zero draft of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework that was released in January 2020. Delegates approved the final recommendation of the meeting compiled by Co-Chairs Francis Ogwal (Uganda) and Basile van Havre (Canada), and adopted the meeting’s report.
6th session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD 2020)
The sixth session of the African Regional Forum on Sustainable Development discussed a selection of countries’ voluntary national reviews of the SDGs, as well as voluntary local reviews. Participants called for accelerated implementation of the SDGs, noting that most countries and partners are not on track to achieving the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063. The Forum adopted a ministerial declaration as well as an outcome summary report and key messages containing Africa’s priorities and policy measures to speed up implementation of the two agendas.