European Union

The thirty-ninth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group (OEWG 39) of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer began on Tuesday, 11 July 2017, at the United Nations Conference Centre (UNCC) in Bangkok, Thailand, with opening remarks by Somchai Harnhiran, Ministry of Industry, Thailand, and Tina Birmpili, Executive Secretary, Ozone Secretariat. In the morning, delegates started discussions on Kigali Amendment implementation issues, including: data reporting under Protocol Article 7; work by the Scientific Assessment Panel (SAP) on updating the global warming potential (GWP) values for substances in the Protocol control annexes; and the process for approving destruction technologies for hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). These items were referred to a contact group for further discussion. IIn the afternoon, delegates briefly took note of progress by the Executive Committee (ExCom) of the Multilateral Fund (MLF) in developing guidelines for financing the phase-down of HFC consumption and production, as requested by MOP 28. They then turned to the 2018-2020 MLF replenishment, starting with a presentation by the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP) on its report on funding requirements. A contact group was formed to further discuss the replenishment. The afternoon ended with TEAP presenting its 2017 report, including issues relating to nominations for essential use exemptions (EUEs) and critical use exemptions (CUEs), quarantine and preshipment (QPS) uses of methyl bromide, methyl bromide stocks, hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) phase-out, and organizational matters. In the evening, delegates attended a reception hosted by the Ozone Secretariat. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has provided daily digital coverage and a summary and analysis report from the Workshop on the Safety Standards Relevant to the Safe Use of Low-GWP Alternatives to HFCs and OEWG 39. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Sean Wu For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Opening Plenary Somchai Harnhirun, Ministry of Industry, Thailand Tina Birmpili, Executive Secretary, Ozone Secretariat Samuel Pare, Burkina Faso Philip Owen, EU Sergey Vasiliev, the Russian Federation Rafael Da Soler, Brazil Richard Mwendandu, Kenya Nancy Akerman, US Co-Chair Cindy Newberg, US Anna Correa, Ecuador Ezzat Lewis, Egypt Liana Ghahramanyan, Armenia SAP Co-Chair John Pyle, UK SAP Co-Chair Paul Newman, US Taha Mohammed Zatari, Saudi Arabia, in discussions with a delegate during the morning plenary Afternoon Plenary View of dais TEAP Co-Chair Paulo Altoe, Brazil TEAP Co-Chair Lambert Kuijpers, the Netherlands Laura Arciniegas Rojas, Colombia Annie Gabriel, Australia Martin Sirois, Canada Kenichiro Tanaka, Japan Delegates from Argentina View of dais Ian Porter, TEAP, Australia Around the Venue

The 2017 meeting of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), under the auspices of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), opened on Monday, 10 July 2017, at UN Headquarters in New York. Following an opening plenary that reviewed progress on implementing the 2030 Agenda in the first two years since its adoption, key regional and sub-regional players, including representatives of UN Regional Commissions, exchanged regional experiences to support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In the afternoon, a thematic review on “Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world: Addressing multi-dimensions of poverty and inequalities,” took place. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage, daily reports from HLPF 2017 and also produced a summary and analysis report, which is available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. Opening and Session 1: Where are we in year two of implementation of the 2030 Agenda? View of the dais during the opening session Frederick Musiiwa Makamure Shava, Permanent Representative of Zimbabwe to the UN, and President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Wu Hongbo, UN Under-Secretary-General, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, Vice-Chair of the Committee for Development Policy, and Professor of International Affairs, The New School Robert Johnson, President, Institute for New Economic Thinking Vivania Ditukana Tatawaqa, Diverse Voices and Action for Equality, Fiji, and representative of the Women's Major Group Session 2: Implementation at the regional and sub-regional levels Panel speakers during the session Shamshad Akhtar, Executive Secretary, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Mohamed Ali Alhakim, Executive Secretary, Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) Aida Opoku-Mensah, Special Advisor to the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Olga Algayerova, Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) Christo Janse van Noordwyk, South Africa, speaking on behalf of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Oleg Pankratov, Vice Prime Minister, Kyrgyzstan, on behalf of the Eurasian Economic Union Sai Jyothirmai Racherla, speaking on behalf of the Women's Major Group Rudolph Michael Ten-Pow, Guyana, speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Rubén Zamora, El Salvador, speaking on behalf of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Delegates during the session Session 3: Thematic review - Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world: Addressing multi-dimensions of poverty and inequalities View of the dais during the session Vikas Swarup, High Commissioner of India to Canada Sabina Alkire, Director of the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), University of Oxford Nabeel Munir, Deputy Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN, and Vice President, ECOSOC Claudia Vasquez Marazzani, Director, Economic, Social and Environmental Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Colombia Anthony Lake, Executive Director, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) Laura Stachel, Executive Director and Co-Founder, We Care Solar Emem Omokaro, Executive Director, Dave Omokaro Foundation (DOF), and African Society for Ageing Research and Development (ASARD) Margaret Kobia, Kenya Jamil Ahmad, UN Environment Eppu Mikkonen-Jeanneret, Finland Limiaa Abdelgafar Ahmed, Sudan Xu Zhongsheng, China Heidi Berner Herrera, Chile Jesús Orus Baguena, EU Saand Youssouf Ahmed Abdallah, Comoros Around the Venue Frederick Musiiwa Makamure Shava, Permanent Representative of Zimbabwe to the UN and President of ECOSOC, speaks with members of the Secretariat Delegates from Ecuador Nabeel Munir, Deputy Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN, and Vice-President, ECOSOC; Moncef Khane, ECOSOC Secretariat; and Vikas Swarup, High Commissioner of India to Canada Delegates from the Russian Federation Christoph Lang, Switzerland Observers listen to the discussion Delegates speak informally between sessions Hand-woven HLPF lanyards made by the Women's Initiative in Nepal that aims to lift women out of poverty through training and empowerment Around the UN Headquarters

On Monday, 10 July, the fourth session of the Preparatory Committee on the elements of a draft text of an international legally binding instrument (ILBI) under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) opened with the plenary addressing administrative matters and hearing general statements. In the afternoon, the informal working group on marine genetic resources (MGRs), facilitated by Janine Coye-Felson (Belize), convened to discuss scope, guiding principles and approaches, access and benefit-sharing. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from the 4th Session of the Preparatory Committee Established by the UN General Assembly Resolution 69/292: Development of an International Legally Binding Instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Franz Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil Miguel de Serpa Soares, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and UN Legal Counsel, on behalf of UN Secretary-General António Guterres Miguel de Serpa Soares, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and UN Legal Counsel, giving his opening address to PrepCom4 L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (UNDOALOS); Miguel de Serpa Soares, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and UN Legal Counsel; Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil; Alice Hicuburundi, UNDOALOS; and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS Alice Revell, New Zealand Jane Chigiyal, Federated States of Micronesia Horacio Sevilla-Borja, Ecuador, on behalf of the G-77/China Sergey Leonidchenko, Russian Federation Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, on behalf of the African Group John Brincat, EU Marlene Moses, Nauru, on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States Teodoro Locsin Jr., the Philippines Ma Xinmin, China Ismail Raushan, Maldives, on behalf of Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Pablo Arrocha Olabuenaga, Mexico Evan Bloom, US, making an intervention Faiyaz Murshid Kazi, Bangladesh Matthías Pálsson, Iceland Michael Googan, Australia Cristóbal Hernández Castillo, Chile Juliette Babb-Riley, Barbados, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Rishy Bukoree, Mauritius Alain Tellier, Canada Florian Botto, Monaco Carlos García Reyes, Guatemala Kathryn Garforth, Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Louise Kantrow, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Ariel Hernán Troisi, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) -UNESCO Kristina Gjerde, IUCN Stefan Micallef, International Maritime Organization Takehiro Nakamura, UN Environment Peggy Kalas, High Seas Alliance Gustavo Arévalo Castro, Comisión Permanente del Pacifico Sur (CPPS) L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (UNDOALOS); Janine Coye-Felson, Belize, Facilitator of the informal working group on marine genetic resources; and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS James Ndirangu Waweru, Kenya Konrad Marciniak, EU Rogelio Villanueva Jr., the Philippines Delegates from the Federated States of Micronesia and Nauru consulting L-R: Ma Xinmin, China, in a conversation with Evan Bloom, US Delegates from the African Group