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Newsletter 21 Jul 2025

Environment: What’s Up in GENeva | 21 July – 3 August 2025

The Geneva Environment Network’s weekly newsletter includes the latest information on the global environmental agenda, main events, job vacancies, as well as other useful resources and updates. Stay tuned and follow us on X (Twitter), Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Bluesky, and Youtube, or visit our website regularly for additional updates.

As the holiday season continues for many, this newsletter exceptionally covers a period of two weeks. Consult our green summer in Geneva update for suggestions of activities.

Image of the week | An Information Session held at Villa Rigot launched the webpage dedicated to the activities organized in the margins of the Plastics Treaty INC-5.2 negotiation session resuming in Geneva in August. © UNEP/GEN, Wesna Aziz

Historic Milestone for Climate Justice

On 23 July, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will deliver its much-anticipated authoritative judicial ruling on States’ obligations in relation to climate change at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. This follows the adoption by the UN General Assembly of a resolution on 29 March requesting the ICJ to clarify States’ obligations with regard to climate change, with specific attention to vulnerable States and affected peoples and individuals, including future generations. Marking what could be not just a legal milestone but a turning point for climate justice and human rights worldwide, this advisory opinion by the ICJ has the potential to address the obligations of States with regard to climate change, under multiple sources of law, including international environmental law and human rights law.

In this light, the Geneva Environment Network and the Center for International Environmental Law are organizing a diplomatic screening of the momentous occasion, accompanied by a commentary by experts and State representatives. → Register to join the live screening in person at International Environment House 1, on 23 July, from 14:30 to 17:00 CEST.

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has also issued in early July a historic Advisory Opinion on the Climate Emergency and Human Rights, and its detailed clarifications on “reinforced” human rights obligations to address climate change and protect life-supporting systems on earth. The opinion triggered numerous reactions as highlighted in our last newsletter. Various UN Special Rapporteurs have also welcomed the Court’s recognition of the climate emergency as “an existential risk to humanity, severely impacting the human rights of present and future generations, and exacerbating poverty, discrimination and vulnerabilities.

Overusing the Planet | 24 July is Earth Overshoot Day

This year, Earth Overshoot Day lands on 24 July, the date when humanity will have used up nature’s entire annual budget of ecological resources and services, according to Global Footprint Network, the international sustainability organization that pioneered the Ecological Footprint, and York University, which now produces the National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts under the governance of FoDaFo. → Read press release

Currently, humanity is using nature 80% faster than Earth’s ecosystems can regenerate, meaning this overshoot is equivalent to using 1.8 Earths. Since global ecological overshoot began in the early 1970s, annual deficits have accumulated into a growing ecological debt, which now amounts to the equivalent of 22 years of the Earth’s full biological productivity. In other words, if ecological overshoot were fully reversible, it would take 22 years of the planet’s full regenerative capacity to restore the lost balance. If overshoot continues at its current level, this debt will grow by approximately 0.8 planet-years each year.

Earth Overshoot Day is a call for proactive responses. → Find resources about the day, learn new tips for a more sustainable living, and discover various initiatives on sustainable production and consumption to #MoveTheDate in our update.

Countdown to INC-5.2 in Geneva | Plastics Treaty Updates

In two weeks, over 3,400 are expected in Geneva for the second part of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-5.2), to convene at Palais des Nations from 5 to 14 August 2025. With preparations now in full progress, updates include:

Other upcoming events in preparation of INC-5.2 include:

Activities taking place in the margins of INC-5.2 in Geneva during the period of this newsletter include:

  • A page dedicated to the activities organized in the margins of the Plastics Treaty INC-5.2, provides an overview of the initiatives taking place in Geneva in parallel to the negotiation, as well as useful information for delegates

  • The artist Benjamin Von Wong is building a giant sculpture – The Thinker’s Burden – on Place des Nations during the Plastics Treaty negotiation, starting on 31 July. → If you want to get involved or support, . If you’re based in Geneva and can help collect plastics, check the Plastics Collection Guide. → Rewatch the Meeting on Activities in the Margins of Plastics Treaty INC-5.2 held at Villa Rigot on 17 July 2025 for more information on the artwork and how to engage and visit the artwork website
  • Local and Subnational Governments Coalition to End Plastic Pollution Reception, convened by the Global Cities Hub and Local and Subnational Governments Coalition to End Plastic Pollution, on 3 August 2025, 17:00 CEST – By invitation only
  • GEF Plastic Reboot Discussion and Reception | 3 Aug 2025 17:00 | GEF, Plastic Reboot | InterContinental Geneva
  • Beating Plastic Pollution: Solutions Day | World Economic Forum, Financing Coordination Group, WRAP, Common Seas, WBG, University of Portsmouth | 3 August 2025 | 08:30 – 17:30 CEST | World Economic Forum Headquarters

Additional news include:

Outcomes of the 59th Session of the Human Rights Council

The 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC59) came to a conclusion in Geneva on 8 July, with the adoption of environment-related resolutions:

  • A/HRC/RES/59/24 | Human rights and climate change | Adopted without a vote
    • The Human Rights Council has adopted the annual resolution on human rights and climate change, with a focus this year on climate finance, as the resolution acknowledges how climate finance is a tool for addressing to the challenges of climate change, including in adaptation and in increasing economic and non-economic loss and damage, and for the enjoyment of human rights. The resolution also reaffirms that the mobilization, management and disbursement of climate finance should be guided by the principles of solidarity, climate justice, equitable access, transparency, adequacy, and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, while recognizing the significance of the advisory proceedings before the International Court of Justice on the obligations of States in respect of climate change.
    • The amendment to the resolution put forward by the Marshall Islands (A/HRC/59/L.30) that aimed to strengthen language in operative paragraph 6 — “Call for deep and rapid cuts in global emissions, in line with 1.5 °C pathways – including by transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner – to avert, minimize and address loss and damage from extreme weather and slow-onset climate events that have an adverse impact on the enjoyment of human rights” — was withdrawn. An oral revision that further recognizes the importance of the first global stocktake of COP28 was adopted.
  • A/HRC/RES/59/3 | Enhancement of international cooperation in the field of human rights | Adopted without a vote
    • The resolution urges States to take the measures necessary to enhance bilateral, regional and international cooperation aimed at addressing the adverse impact of consecutive and compounded global crises, such as health crises, financial and economic crises, food crises, climate change and natural disasters, and refugee and internal displacement crises, on the full enjoyment of human rights.
  • A/HRC/RES/59/8 | Human rights and international solidarity | Adopted by a recorded vote 27-16-4
    • Mindful of the challenges presented by globalization, including that of environmental risks, the resolution recognizes that international solidarity is a powerful tool for addressing the structural causes of different global challenges including extreme poverty, food insecurity, climate change, pandemics, inequality, migration, racism, violence against women and girls, among others.
  • A/HRC/RES/59/10 | Civil society space | Adopted without a vote
    • The resolution urges States to create and maintain a safe and enabling environment, online and offline, in which civil society can operate independently and free from hindrance, insecurity and reprisals. It also encourages States and regional and international organizations to put in place transparent, fair and gender-responsive accreditation processes that deliver prompt decisions, respect human rights and safeguard the meaningful, safe, diverse and inclusive participation of civil society, including by establishing grievance mechanisms for redress, and to address any erroneous accreditation decisions.
  • A/HRC/RES/59/12 | Mandate of Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons | Adopted without a vote
    • Underscoring the alarmingly large number of internally displaced persons throughout the world for reasons including disasters and the adverse effects of climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, desertification, and increasingly in situations various challenges interact, the resolution recognizes that the increased frequency and scale of disasters, and climate change, as drivers of disaster risk, and their adverse effects, as contributors to environmental degradation and extreme weather events, already contribute, among other factors, to internal displacement and additional pressure on internally displaced persons and host communities.
    • Extending the mandate of Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons for a period of three years to work towards strengthening the international response to the complex problem of internal displacement in the context of often multiple interacting drivers, the resolution calls upon States to provide durable solutions in accordance with the Framework on Durable Solutions for Internally Displaced Persons and by supporting the implementation of the Secretary-General’s Action Agenda on Internal Displacement, and encourages strengthened international cooperation, including through the provision of resources and expertise to assist affected countries, in particular developing countries, in their efforts and policies relating to prevention, assistance, protection, rehabilitation, durable solutions, including disaster risk reduction, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and development assistance for internally displaced persons and their host communities.
  • A/HRC/RES/59/15 | Safety of journalists | Adopted without a vote
    • The resolution calls upon States to take measures to protect journalists and media workers from strategic lawsuits against public participation, and from misuse notably of financial, defamation or libel laws to pressure, silence or intimidate journalists, and, where appropriate, to adopt laws and policies that prevent, disincentivize and/or alleviate such cases, including by ensuring early dismissal of unfounded proceedings, remedies for victims of abusive lawsuits and appropriate penalties against those who brought cases found to be abusive, and ending “forum-shopping”.
  • A/HRC/RES/59/19 | The contribution of development to the enjoyment of all human rights | Adopted without a vote
    • The resolution affirms the commitments to end poverty and hunger, in all their forms and dimensions, and noting that a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is important for sustainable development in all its dimensions, and that the well-being of humanity depends on nature, the resolution also notes the concept of human rights economy proposed by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights as a tool of an approach based on full respect for human rights to reduce inequalities and realize the 2030 Agenda,… including the delivery of better results for people and the planet, grounded in economic, civil, political, social, cultural and environmental rights.
  • A/HRC/RES/59/21 | The Social Forum | Adopted without a vote
    • The resolution also decides that the two-day 2026 Social Forum should be focused on the contribution of international cooperation and solidarity, including South-South cooperation, to the realization of the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. It also decides that the Social Forum will be open to other non-governmental organizations whose aims and purposes are in conformity with the spirit, purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, including newly emerging actors, such as environmental organizations and activists.

It is also to be noted that at an HRC59 side event, H.E. Amb. Ogando Lora announced that the Dominican Republic and Malta will present a resolution on sea level rise at HRC60. He highlighted how climate-induced sea-level rise threatens human rights, with entire nations facing the real prospect of becoming uninhabitable. He urged the Council to act with solidarity & determination: “It is not a moral choice, but an urgent necessity.”

In this session, numerous parallel and side events have also tackled various environmental issues. Outcomes of events co-organized by the Geneva Environment Network include:

→ Consult highlights of key environmental issues at HRC59, side events, and further resources which are available on our dedicated HRC59 and the environment update

Recent news include:

Protecting Wetlands for Our Common Future at Ramsar Convention COP-15

The 15th meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Wetlands will take place from 23 to 31 July 2025 in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Held every three years, the 2025 edition of the Convention on Wetlands COP is gathering 172 Contracting Parties to strengthen international commitments for wetland conservation under the theme, “Protecting Wetlands for Our Common Future”, which emphasizes the important role wetlands play in sustaining ecological health, biodiversity, and climate resilience. → Access all documents and follow the live coverage of the IISD Earth Negotiations Bulletin

COP15 will take place against the backdrop of the findings of the recently published Global Wetland Outlook 2025 (GWO 2025), which warns about the alarming rate at which wetlands are disappearing. The report stresses that, if current trends continue, up to 20% of the world’s remaining wetlands could vanish by 2050, putting an estimated $39 trillion in global benefits at risk. → Learn more in the Press Release

The Deep Sea Needs Rules

The 30th Session of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) Assembly is convening from 21 to 25 July 2025 in Kingston, Jamaica. In addition to reviewing the work of the Council, the Assembly will commemorate the ISA’s 30th anniversary and deliberate on the need for a general ISA policy for protection and preservation of the marine environment. → Follow the live updates of the negotiations through the Earth Negotiations Bulletin

In this session, negotiations continue to develop rules, regulations, and procedures (RRPs) relating to the commercial exploitation of mineral resources from the deep sea. This follows the decision by the Council in July 2023 that indicated that it intends to continue the elaboration of RRPs, with a view to their adoption during its 30th session. As Council President Duncan Muhumuza Laki of Uganda highlighted in his opening the ISA plays a central role in regulating activities in the deep seabed and must continue to do so to prevent a regulatory vacuum that others might exploit. ISA Secretary-General Leticia Carvalho also underscored “Every decision we make here is a promise to those who will come after us – a vow that we did not take more than the ocean could give, that we prioritized protection over plunder. With this said, let me express, esteemed delegates, what I perceive should be our laser focus of this session. And that focus is this: The Deep Sea Needs Rules… I am confident that we can all be united in agreement — that multilateralism anchored in rules-based governance is the only reliable pathway.”

At the UN Ocean Conference in Nice last month, the UN Secretary-General warned that the deep sea must not become the “wild west.” World leaders also delivered a powerful and united message: the deep sea must be protected, not exploited, as presidents from France, Palau, Costa Rica, Panama, and Chile, alongside scientists, Indigenous leaders, civil society, and companies, called for a moratorium on deep-sea mining. Four additional countries have joined the coalition of nations calling for a moratorium, precautionary pause, or ban on deep-sea mining, bringing the total number to 37.

Statements, key messages, reactions from different stakeholders, and news include:

More Happening Abroad

  • 2025 HLPF | The 2025 High-Level Political Forum taking place under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council is expected to conclude on 23 July 2025, The high-level segment of ECOSOC, including the three-day ministerial segment of the HLPF, to be convened from 21 to 24 July 2025, will feature the General Debate, focused on the theme “UN@80: Catalyzing change for sustainable development”. → Follow the IISD Earth Negotiations Bulletin Live Coverage
  • The 2025 HLPF Special Events Programme include this week:
    • SDG 6 Water Action Agenda Special Event 2025 | 22 July
    • SDG Global Business Forum 2025 | 22 July
    • Strengthening Climate and SDG Synergies for Accelerated Momentum Toward 2030 | 22 July

Enjoying a Green Summer in Geneva

With the schools closed in Geneva and the Swiss National Day celebrated on 1 August, many are now enjoying their holidays. Suggestions for enjoying a safe, healthy and Green Summer in Geneva 2025 in the coming two weeks include:

  • Exhibition on International Cooperation in Education in Geneva | Until 31 July 2025 | Geneva Graduate Institute
    NORRAG public exhibition at the Rotonde du Mont-Blanc highlights how education (SDG 4) is essential to achieving all 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The exhibition connects education to key global challenges such as climate action, poverty reduction, gender equality, and peacebuilding, and showcases the efforts of Geneva-based actors in advancing these goals.
  • Ciné Transat | Until 17 August 2025 | Perle du Lac
    Come and experience the magic of cinema under the stars! Settle into a cozy deckchair and enjoy a selection of classic and iconic films in the beautiful lakeside setting of Perle du Lac.
  • Au coeur des plantes ! Venez observer et dessiner la nature | 27 July 2025 | Parc des Chaumettes
    Les Rôdeuses invite you to plunge into the fascinating world of plants, where every detail counts. Equipped with botanists’ magnifying glasses, you’ll set off to meet native shrubs – from charcoal to dogwood – and explore the wild meadow to capture the details that make them special. Then, with watercolor pencils in hand, you’ll try your hand at naturalistic drawing, attempting to capture the essence of a plant through line and color…A workshop to sharpen your eye, between science and sensitivity.
  • Protecting our shores | 30 July 2025 | La Baby Plage
    Take part of a powerful global movement to protect our precious marine ecosystems. Join for “Protecting Our Shores,” a worldwide initiative combining vital beach cleanups with impactful marine education. Whether you’re able to join on the sand or participate from your screen, your involvement is crucial in safeguarding our planet’s oceans.
  • The Masterpiece at sea | 30 July 2025 | Quai Gustave-Ador
    Set course for a summer of literary discoveries! The Bibliothèque d’art et d’archéologie (BAA) hoists the sails and drops anchor at Quai Gustave-Ador to take readers and young sailors on a salty cultural adventure. Come and sail from one book to the next, and let yourself be carried along by the current of stories.
  • Fête nationale | 1 August 2025 | City of Geneva
    Swiss National Day is celebrated on 1st of August. It commemorates the oath sworn in 1291 by the cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden on the Rütli meadow near Lake Lucerne. In Geneva, the festivities are being organized as part of the current mayoral year.
  • Sortie nature d’août | 2 August 2025 | City of Geneva
    The NARIES Association offers educational activities on Swiss flora and fauna through monthly Nature Outings. These escapades will take the most inquisitive to specially selected areas to observe particular species. Detailed explanations will accompany you on every outing to learn more about the animals, their environment and appropriate conservation measures, as well as answering any questions you may have.
  • Atelier Nature : une montagne de biodiversité | Until 28 August 2025 | Megève
    Château des Rubins animators offer you 8 workshops with an original approach to mountain biodiversity. Thanks to fun and amusing experiments, and the learning of ancient know-how, set off in the footsteps of mountain diversity. This year’s focus is on wetlands. These workshops will enable you to question Man’s relationship with Nature and reflect on the future of mountain societies.

What (Else) to Read Next?

  • Connecting planetary boundaries and planetary health: a resilient and stable Earth system is crucial for human health | Samuel S Myersa, Oskar Masztalerzc, Samantha Ahdootd et al. | The Lancet | 15 July 2025
    Earth system scientists developed the planetary boundaries framework for measuring and tracking the stability and resilience of the Earth system. The framework quantifies safe boundary levels for nine processes that regulate the state of the Earth system and are increasingly affected by human activity. Six of these planetary boundaries are now transgressed and most trend towards further transgression.
  • The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025 | United Nations | 14 July 2025
    With the 2030 deadline only five years away, the report delivers a stark assessment: the Sustainable Development Goals have improved millions of lives, but the current pace of change is insufficient to fully achieve all the Goals by 2030.
  • An Important Lesson for These Times from Environmental Justice’s Earliest Days | Union of Concerned Scientists |14 July 2025
    Since the early 1980s, an ever-growing number of people have embraced environmental justice (EJ) as an important part of their work, or they have used this vital lens to look at and develop solutions for many of the nation’s problems. “With the Trump Administration’s recent extreme and reckless attacks on this work, individuals and organizations seeking to advance EJ are understandably distressed and pondering how they can continue to make progress on issues that are rooted in deep evidence and are dear to their hearts.”
  • Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform initiative steps up experience-sharing, reviews subsidy impacts | WTO | 11 July 2025
    At a meeting on 11 July, the Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform (FFSR) initiative deepened exchanges of insights and experiences on approaches to fossil fuel subsidy reform. Participants advanced discussions on all three core pillars of the initiative’s 2025 work programme, as outlined in the MC13 Ministerial Statement: addressing harmful fossil fuel subsidies, enhancing transparency, and tackling crisis-related energy support measures.
  • AI and Climate Action: Opportunities, Risks and Challenges for Developing Countries | UNFCCC | 11 July 2025
    A new technical paper released by the Technology Executive Committee (TEC) under the UNFCCC Technology Mechanism explores how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can serve as a powerful enabler of climate action in developing countries most vulnerable to climate impacts.
  • New Body Adopts Intense Timetable for Final Pandemic Agreement Talks | Health Policy Watch | 11 July 2025
    A new body, the Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG), met for the first time and chose Brazil’s H.E. Amb. Tovar da Silva Nunes and the UK’s Dr Mathew Harpur as co-chairs. The IGWG adopted a tight schedule to achieve its key task: negotiating an annex to the pandemic agreement on a pathogen access and benefit sharing (PABS) system. 
  • Frontiers 2025: The Weight of Time – Facing a new age of challenges for people and ecosystems | UNEP | 10 July 2025
    The Frontiers Report spotlights emerging environmental issues before they escalate into global or regional crises. While these issues may currently appear localised or small-scale, early intervention is critical to prevent them from becoming widespread challenges.
  • WMO highlights hotspots, health hazards and economic cost of sand and dust storms | WMO | 10 July 2025
    The annual WMO Airborne Dust Bulletin highlights hotspots and impacts of a hazard which affects about 330 million people in more than 150 countries worldwide. Every year, around 2,000 million tons of sand and dust enters the atmosphere – equivalent to 307 Great Pyramids of Giza. More than 80% of the global dust budget originates from the North African and Middle Eastern deserts and can be transported for hundreds and thousands of kilometers, across continents and oceans.
  • ARTE Europe Weekly : How heatwaves expose inequality | UNIGE | 9 July 2025
    Heatwaves like the one that scorched across Europe in late June and early July 2025 are going to become longer, more frequent and more intense. And not everyone experiences them in the same way.
  • «Mon but, ce n’est pas de protéger l’environnement, c’est de protéger l’humanité» | Tribune de Genève | 6 July 2025
    À 64 ans, Martine Rebetez, professeure à l’Université de Neuchâtel et à l’Institut fédéral WSL. Après une semaine de canicule, on est allés lui parler réchauffement.
  • Measuring What Matters: How to Assess AI’s Environmental Impact | ITU | 3 July 2025
    The report offers a comprehensive overview of current approaches to evaluating the environmental impacts of AI systems. The review focuses on identifying which components of AI’s environmental impacts are being measured, evaluating the transparency and methodology soundness of these measuring practices, and determining their relevance and actionability.
  • Praying the world halts climate change? There’s now a Catholic Mass for that | Reuters | 3 July 2025
    A new rite published by the Vatican on Thursday will allow priests to celebrate a Mass to exhort Catholics to exercise care for the Earth, in the latest push by the 1.4-billion-member global Church to address global climate change.
  • Rémi Parmentier, the Policy Maestro who changed everything | The Common Initiative | 1 July 2025
    The environmental movement has lost one of its most brilliant minds and fierce advocates. Rémi Parmentier, policy extraordinaire, ocean champion, and an absolute legend, passed away on June 26, 2025, leaving behind a legacy that will ripple through the halls of international diplomacy and across the very waters he fought so passionately to protect.
  • Guidance on Border Carbon Adjustment: Results of the Global Stakeholder Dialogues | IISD | July 2025
    The report provides guidance on border carbon adjustment (BCA) that respects development and climate objectives as well as developing country perspectives. It was created by a multistakeholder group of experts to balance trade, climate, and development goals.

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10 Jul 2026

Earth Overshoot Day

Climate | Nature | Trade and Environment | Science

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