Menu

Newsletter 24 Mar 2025

Environment: What’s Up in GENeva | 24 – 31 March 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.

Due to the celebration of Eid al-Fitr on 31 March 2025, an official holiday for the United Nations in Geneva, this newsletter exceptionally covers a period of 8 days. The next newsletter will be published on Tuesday 1 April 2025.

Image of the week | The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to a Healthy Environment, Astrid Puentes, surrounded by her team and panelists of the closing session of the 2025 Geneva Rights and Environment Talks that took place in the margins of the 58th session of the Human Rights Council. The last talk looked at how marine pollution, in all its aspects, violates human rights, including right to healthy environment.

Celebrating International Day of Zero Waste | Spotlight on Fashion and Textiles

International Day of Zero Waste, celebrated on 30 March since 2023, highlights the importance of bolstering waste management globally and the need to promote sustainable consumption and production patterns to address the waste pollution crisis. The 2025 edition is observed under the theme “Towards zero waste in fashion and textiles”, as this sector embodies the zero-waste agenda – from the importance of bolstering waste management globally to the need for reducing waste generation, and promoting sustainable consumption and production patterns.

On the occasion of the third observation, Türkiye and the Geneva Environment Network are hosting a celebration in partnership with UNEP and UN-Habitat and in collaboration with various Geneva-based institutions, showcasing steps taken to move forward the zero-waste agenda and key initiatives to reduce the waste impact from the fashion and textile sector, promoting sustainability and circularity. → Register on indico and join the celebration at Palais des Nations, Room XXIII, on Tuesday 25 March 2025 from 15:15 to 16:30 CET.

UNECE Resource Management Week | Advancing Sustainable Resource Governance

The UNECE Resource Management Week 2025 is gathering global experts, policymakers and industry leaders to shape the policies and strategies to support a more sustainable future for resource governance, from 24 to 28 March 2025 at Palais Nations.→ Read more in UNECE press release.

The event features several meetings, side events and lunchtime lectures including:

Road to Plastics Treaty INC-5.2 | Ensuring Inclusive Participation

In preparation the resumed 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), convening in Geneva, in August 2025, various sessions organized within the framework of the Geneva Beat Plastic Pollution Dialogues are unpacking important aspects related to the negotiations.

This week, a new dialogue will provide guidance and increase clarity on why it is crucial to ensure the participation of civil society, rightsholders and other relevant observers in the INC and other Multilateral Environment Agreement Processes. Public participation in environmental governance is a cornerstone of democracy and human rights, ensuring that individuals and communities can engage in decision-making processes that impact their health and environment. However, in recent years, there has been a concerning trend of restricted participation in international environmental negotiations, limiting the input of civil society organizations, Indigenous Peoples, scientists, and other key stakeholders. Leading experts joining the panel of this event will discuss the legal bases for ensuring inclusive participation in environmental governance, the benefits and barriers to public participation and in international decision-making processes. They will also present case studies where civil society engagement has led to stronger, more effective policies and make recommendations. → Register on Webex to participate on Thursday 27 March 2025 from 15:00 CET.

Additional news on plastics include:

Environment @ 58th session of the Human Rights Council

The 58th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC58) continues this week in Geneva. → Consult regular updates on key environmental issues at HRC58, side events, and further resources available on our dedicated HRC58 and the environment update.

Events of interest taking place this week include:

Advancing the human rights and environment agenda, various calls for submissions from Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council and other human rights bodies and instruments, are closing within the next two weeks:

  • A Roadmap for Eradicating Poverty Beyond Growth | The UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights has launched an 18-month project to develop a “Roadmap for eradicating poverty beyond growth” which he intends to present as part of his final report to the 62nd session of the UN Human Rights Council in June/July 2026. This initiative builds on the Special Rapporteur’s July 2024 report ‘Eradicating poverty beyond growth’ to the UN Human Rights Council, which challenged the prevailing growth-centric development model and traditional poverty reduction strategies, and advocated for a shift to a human rights economy. Taking this report as an initial assessment of why a post-growth approach to poverty eradication is required and what it could look like, the Special Rapporteur now intends to propose how this transformation could be achieved. The deadline for submission is 30 March 2025.
  • Financing for inclusive, sustainable and participatory development | In the Pact for the Future, States agreed to take bold, ambitious, accelerated, just and transformative actions to implement the 2030 Agenda, place the eradication of poverty at the centre of efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda, and close the Sustainable Development Goal financing gap in developing countries. The 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) provides a vital opportunity to implement the 2015 Addis Ababa Action Agenda and overcome existing barriers to financing for development. Against this backdrop, the Special Rapporteur’s report to the 80th session of the UN General Assembly will articulate equitable and transformative financing pathways for inclusive, sustainable and participatory development. The deadline for submission is 31 March 2025.
  • Situation of natural resources and human rights in Cambodia | The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia is preparing his next report to the 60th session of the Human Rights Council scheduled in September/October 2025. In his upcoming report, the Special Rapporteur intends to focus on the link between natural resources and human rights in Cambodia from the angle of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. Of particular interest are elements relating to land (including forestry, food production and agriculture), water (including water for consumption, and protection of water sources, lakes, rivers and sea) and air (including clean air and climate change). The deadline for submission is 31 March 2025.
  • Public consultation on Guidelines on the Right to Peaceful Environmental Protest and Civil Disobedience | In February 2024, the Special Rapporteur on environmental defenders under UNECE Aarhus Convention released a position paper, outlining the Special Rapporteur’s observations of the various forms of repression experienced by members of the public for their involvement in peaceful environmental protest and civil disobedience. The position paper concludes with five calls to action to States on how to respond to environmental protest in compliance with their obligations under the Aarhus Convention and international human rights law. The Special Rapporteur is sending out a call for comments on the draft which operationalizes these five calls to action through “Operational Principles” that provide guidance to assist Parties and other interested Member States in the context of peaceful environmental protest, including acts of civil disobedience. The deadline for submission is 31 March 2025.
  • Military Activities and Toxics | The thematic report on military activities and toxics aims to provide information and recommendations that can help strengthen policies and practices in this area. The report, to be presented to the United Nations General Assembly in 2025, will identify adverse impacts of military activities, including activities before, during and after armed conflict, and during peacetime, in respect of hazardous substances and wastes. The report will also analyze gaps and shortcomings in the legal frameworks governing these activities, with a view to securing both protection from toxic exposures and accountability. The deadline for submission is 1 April 2025.
  • Identification, Documentation, Demarcation, Registration, and Titling of Indigenous Peoples’ Lands: Practices and Lessons Learned | The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples seeks to examine implementing mechanisms of the right of Indigenous Peoples to their lands, territories and resources. right. He would like to take stock of States’ practices of identifying, documenting, demarcating, registering and titling Indigenous Peoples’ right to land, territories and resources with the view to distilling from the trends and lessons that could inspire other States, inform relevant international processes, help correct existing challenges and mitigate risks. The deadline for submission is 1 April 2025.

Environment @ Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Weeks 2025

The 2025 edition of the Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Weeks (HNPW) — a large humanitarian event held annually since 2015 providing a collaborative space for humanitarian networks, partnerships, practitioners and experts to meet and address key humanitarian issues — continues on its second week, from 24 to 28 March, and will take place in person at the CICG in Geneva. With the environment high on the agenda of HNPW, the HNPW inter-network collaboration includes the climate crisis and environment nexus as part of its Areas of Common Concern (AOCC) to improve humanitarian preparedness and response. → Consult our dedicated page for an outlook on the environment-related activities @ HNPW.

Among the numerous events addressing environmental challenges and opportunities, the Environment and Humanitarian Action Network (EHAN) Annual Meeting, advancing the environmental sustainability and humanitarian action agenda, is taking place on 27 March 2025, from 11:00 to 17:45 CET, at the CICG, Room 16 and online. This meeting, bringing together key stakeholders to discuss critical issues at the intersection of environment and humanitarian crises, will focus on Environment and Humanitarian Action (EHA). The meeting is open to anyone interested in the topic of environmental sustainability in humanitarian action, and will provide an opportunity to network with other humanitarians with similar interests.

State of the Global Climate | Every Fraction of a Degree of Warming Matters

Last week, the World Meteorological Organization released the State of the Global Climate 2024 stressing that 2024 was likely the first calendar year to be more than 1.5°C above the pre-industrial era and the warmest year in the 175-year observational record. Despite these alarming findings, “a single year above 1.5 °C of warming does not indicate that the long-term temperature goals of the Paris Agreement are out of reach, it is a wake-up call that we are increasing the risks to our lives, economies and to the planet,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo. As outlined in the Significant Weather & Climate Events 2024 Supplement, extreme weather events in 2024 led to the highest number of new annual displacements since 2008, and destroyed homes, critical infrastructure, forests, farmland and biodiversity. Consequently, early warnings and climate services are vital to protect communities and economies. While substantial progress in terms of improving climate services has been observed in the last five years, further investments and support for building National Meteorological and Hydrological Services’ capacities is needed.

Based on the data of the State of the Global Climate 2024 report and recent studies, on the eve of the first World Glaciers Day, WMO also published an update on glaciers, sounding the alarm on the importance of their preservation as glaciers are currently the second-largest contributor to global sea-level rise, after the warming of the ocean and a vital water source for hundreds of millions of people who live downstream and depend on the release of water stored over past winters during the hottest and driest parts of the year. The new findings complement a recent community effort published in the journal Nature in early 2025 and coordinated by the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS). This study — Glacier Mass Balance Intercomparison Exercise (GlaMBIE) — found that between 2000 and 2023, glaciers lost 5% of their remaining ice. Regionally, the loss ranges from 2% in the Antarctic and Subantarctic Islands to almost 40% in Central Europe. At present melt rates, many glaciers in Western Canada and the USA, Scandinavia, Central Europe, the Caucasus, New Zealand, and the Tropics will not survive the 21st century.

Upcoming events and recent news include:

  • While World Meteorological Day is observed in 23 March the WMO will host the official 2025 ceremony, under this year’s theme “Closing the early warning gap together” at its headquarters on Monday, 24 March from 15:00 – 17:00 CET.
  • Last week, the Canton of Geneva published its Carbon Footprint Report, which brings encouraging findings as of 2022, the carbon footprint per capita is 12.7 tonnes, 27% lower than in 1990. Direct emissions, relating solely to those produced within the canton and for which reduction targets have been set, are 3.4 tonnes per person, a reduction of 39% since 1990. To achieve the cantonal targets of a 60% reduction in greenhouse gases (GHG) by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050, efforts must be stepped up.
  • Two calls from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have been issued recently:

Preparations for the 2025 Meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions

At the end of next month, the 2025 Meetings of the conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions (BRS COPs) will convene in Geneva. The Conventions’ Secretariat and involved stakeholders are actively preparing the meetings. Key moments taking place in the next two weeks include:

On the Road to 2025 BRS COPs, the Geneva Environment Network has been collaborating with the secretariat and various partners for a series of events providing information on preparations and facilitating dialogues on key issues to be discussed at the meetings. The sessions can be rewatched on YouTube. Recent and upcoming sessions include:

Geneva Chapter of the Festival du Film Vert

The 2025 edition of Festival du Film Vert — the French-speaking Switzerland’s premier documentary festival dedicated to the environment — comes to the city of Geneva from 25 March to 9 April. Featuring over 400 screenings across multiple locations, it raises awareness of climate challenges while showcasing solutions. Many screenings include discussions with filmmakers and experts, encouraging action for a sustainable future. Numerous other projections continue to take place in other places in the Canton of Geneva and neighboring France.

The Geneva chapter of the Festival will be officially inaugurated on 25 March 2025 with a special evening at the Cinéma le City featuring interventions by local authorities and experts and the screening of the documentary “De l’assiette à l’océan”, by Julien Challandes (France, 2024), which explores the links between our food and the ocean, followed by exchanges with experts to deepen the discussion. Join from 18:30 CET the evening organized in partnership with the City of Geneva, the Department of Finance, Environment and Housing and Service Agenda 21.

Other screenings of interest taking place this week include:

  • Into the Ice | 27 March 2025 | 18:30 CET | Following three glaciologists on their expeditions into the Greenland ice cap, capturing breathtaking images as one of them descends into a 200-meter-deep hole to examine the bottom of the ice sheet, the film is a call to action for our planet’s climate.
  • Plastic Fantastic | 27 March 2025 | Salle communale des Délices de Grand Saconnex | 19:30 CET | The documentary follows several protagonists — representatives of the plastics industry on the one hand, and scientists and activists on the other – to discover where the plastic crisis is taking us.

More to Enjoy a Green Spring in Geneva

With warmer weather slowly coming back in Geneva, the longer hours of light as we change to European summer time on Sunday 30 March, various events taking place around Geneva will allow you to enjoy a green spring, including:

  • Dialogues insolites entre le Muséum d’histoire naturelle de Genève et le Conservatoire botanique de Genève | 21 March 2024 to 29 June 2025 | Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques
    Discover the fascinating interactions between the plant and animal worlds through a unique exhibition showcasing historical specimens and scientific connections. Learn how creatures like the sphinx moth, tattooed armadillo, and Darwin’s orchid have contributed to scientific advancements, and explore the legacy of renowned Geneva naturalists.
  • Sortie Nature WWF: Soins aux animaux | 26 March 2025 | Petit-Lancy, Bois de la Bâtie
    Join the WWF Genève Panda Club for a special afternoon at the Bois de la Bâtie animal park, where children will have the opportunity to learn about animal care and interact with the park’s residents. From caring for animals to observing their behavior, this event offers a hands-on experience with animals that have feathers, fur, or scales.
  • Spiritualité et écologie : un dialogue pour réenchanter notre relation avec la Terre | 26 March 2025 | UNIGE
    Join this public conference to explore the intersection of spirituality and ecology.
  • Le nouveau bilan CO2 du canton de Genève | 27 March 2025 | Uni Carl-Vogt
    Join Justine de Bodinat from the Département du Territoire for a public conference discussing the greenhouse gas emissions in Geneva in 2022.
  • Cultive ton balcon | 29 March 2025 | Centre nature de la Libellule
    Join this hands-on workshop to learn how to grow fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers on your balcony while supporting urban biodiversity.
  • Les marais de Sionnet | 29 March 2025 | Centre nature de la Libellule
    This birdwatching excursion takes you through the Sionnet marshes and surrounding agricultural areas to observe nesting species and potential migratory stops.
  • Atelier Plantes Aromatiques Perpétuelles | 29 March 2025 | Arbres & Co
    Join this hands-on workshop to explore perennial aromatic plants like lavender, thyme, and mint. Learn how to identify, cultivate, and maintain these plants in your garden, ensuring a fragrant harvest year after year. 
  • Biblioweekend : Une plante, une histoire, un son | 30 March 2025 | Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques
    Discover the fascinating baobab tree through a botanical exploration, fruit tasting, and immersion in its captivating legends, accompanied by Malagasy music. A scientist will explain the tree’s unique botanical features and diverse uses, followed by a storytelling session where librarians share a Malagasy legend about this remarkable, long-living tree.
  • Genève sous la glace, frissons garantis | 30 March 2025 | Musée d’histoire des sciences
    Step back 20,000 years and experience a time when Geneva was covered by the Rhône glacier! In this immersive session, discover the history of glaciation, including how Swiss scientists challenged earlier beliefs about Earth’s climate.
  • Festival Histoire et Cité 2025 | Animal | 31 March to 6 April 2025
    The 10th edition of the Festival Histoire et Cité explores the central role of animals throughout history. From wild creatures to companions, sources of food, and religious symbols, the festival covers their impact across different eras. Events will delve into topics like mythology, domestication, and the philosophy and science of human-animal interactions

Happening Abroad

1st Part of the 30th Annual Session of the International Seabed Authority (ISA30) | The 1st part of ISA30 convenes from 17 to 28 March 2025 in Kingston, Jamaica. Discussions focus on the development of regulations for the commercial exploitation of minerals on the deep-sea floor, including on the development of a potential “Mining Code.” → Watch the negotiations on ISA Web TV and follow the live coverage of the IISD Earth Negotiations Bulletin.

Third One Health Quadripartite Executive Annual Meeting | The Third Quadripartite Executive Annual Meeting (QEAM 3) is taking place on 25-27 March 2025, at the Headquarters of WOAH in Paris, France, in hybrid format. The meeting will review the progress, achievements, and activities of the Quadripartite since QEAM 2, whilst providing strategic guidance on priority areas and actions for the coming year and beyond, at both global and regional levels. The meeting will also aim to review successes and challenges related to political advocacy, One Health governance and investment to sustain and expand One Health initiatives.

56th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on Migratory Species | The 56th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) will take place from 25 to 27 March 2025 in Bonn, Germany. Open to all members and alternate members of the Standing Committee and representatives of CMS Parties, CMS Agreements, partner organizations and other observers, the Standing Committee is expected to tackle the development of the Programme of Work for the intersessional period between COP15 and COP16.

Second Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health | The Second Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health – Accelerating action for clean air, clean energy access and climate change mitigation, takes place in Cartagena, Colombia from 25 to 27 March 2025. It will catalyze evidence-based, coordinated multi-sectoral solutions in cities, countries and regions to prevent communicable and noncommunicable disease, save lives, protect child health and limit climate change across the world. Around 7 million people die from air pollution each year, mainly from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Almost all of the global population (99%) breathe air that exceeds WHO guideline limits and contains high levels of pollutants. Sharing the latest evidence on health risks of air pollution and energy poverty, assessment tools and resources for decision-making, the Conference will take stock of global progress since 2015 after the World Health Assembly resolution was passed and the start of the Sustainable Development Goals, while harnessing climate and development finance to tackle air pollution and ensure a just energy transition.
A global call to action from the health community: Stop polluting the air we breathe – prevent diseases and save lives, already signed by more than 47 million health professionals, patients, advocates, representatives from civil society organizations, and individuals worldwide, will be presented at the Conference. A pivotal moment to drive ambition and action to tackle the health, environmental, and socioeconomic impacts of air pollution, the conference is calling on all stakeholders to pledge voluntary actions to achieve clean air in countries.

What (Else) To Read Next?

  • 40 ans de la Convention de Vienne pour la protection de la couche d’ozone : Un accord international sur la protection de l’environnement fête son anniversaire | EMPA | 20 March 2025
    La couche d’ozone se reconstitue — un succès qui a débuté il y a 40 ans avec la Convention de Vienne. Les mesures effectuées à l’échelle mondiale sont essentielles pour la réglementation et la surveillance des substances qui appauvrissent la couche d’ozone. Les chercheurs de l’Empa y contribuent largement en tant que membres d’un réseau mondial au Jungfraujoch — et détectent même régulièrement des substances jusqu’alors inconnues.
  • Guinea Bissau must urgently prioritise water and sanitation, says Special Rapporteur | OHCHR | 19 March 2025
    The UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, made the appeal in a statement at the conclusion of his 10-day official visit to Guinea-Bissau.
  • Trump administration pressure on scientists reaches Switzerland | Swissinfo | 21 March 2025
    The Trump administration has sent a questionnaire to the Swiss federal institute of technology ETH Zurich requiring it to show how its US-funded projects align with America’s new “political guidelines”. Project components touching on climate issues or diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) are thought to be in US sights. 
  • Jury delivers verdict finding Greenpeace entities liable for more than $660 million in Energy Transfer SLAPP trial | Greenpeace | 19 March 2025
    A Morton County jury of nine reached a verdict in Energy Transfer’s meritless lawsuit against Greenpeace entities in the US (Greenpeace Inc, Greenpeace Fund), and Greenpeace International, finding the entities liable for more than US$660 million, today. Big Oil Bullies around the world will continue to try to silence free speech and peaceful protest, but the fight against Energy Transfer’s meritless SLAPP lawsuit is not over. 
  • Forest Report 2025: Swiss forests under pressure to adapt | Federal Office for the Environment FOEN and the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL | 18 March 2025
    Over the past decade, extreme events such as heat, drought, storms and pests have taken a heavy toll on Swiss forests. In order for forests to continue to fulfil their functions for people and the environment in the future, they must be made more resilient to climate change.
  • ETC CE Report 2025/5 Environmental impact of material’s supply chain disruption – The cases of Aluminium and Lithium | European Environment Information and Observation Network | 18 March 2025
    This report is a continuation of pilot studies initiated in 2023 to address the European Union’s susceptibility to critical raw materials (CRMs) supply chain disruptions and subsequent their environmental implications. It underscores the critical role of supply chain decisions, investment in recycling technologies, and domestic production in mitigating environmental impacts.
  • WWF calls for a global moratorium on deep seabed mining to protect ocean biodiversity and climate stability | WWF | 17 March 2025
    WWF is urging governments to pause deep seabed mining due to its severe risks to marine biodiversity, climate regulation, and sustainable development. A new WWF report highlights how deep seabed mining would undermine global commitments under the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
  • Certains de mes compagnons sont devenus aveugles » : les bananes du Costa Rica, produites et exportées au prix de ravages sur la santé des travailleurs | Le Monde | 17 March 2025
    Ce pays d’Amérique centrale compte parmi les principaux producteurs de bananes, majoritairement à destination des Etats-Unis et de l’Europe. Très exposés aux pesticides, les travailleurs du secteur développent de nombreuses lésions et maladies.
  • Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction 2024/2025 | UNEP and GlobalABC | 17 March 2025
    The highlights progress made on related global climate goals and calls for greater ambition on six challenges, including building energy codes, renewable energy, and financing. 
  • A Matter Of Global Security: Why Action on Climate Displacement Cannot Wait | Just Security | 17 March 2025
    Governments must prepare for continued climate migration. When millions of people are forced to abandon their homes due to extreme weather, the consequences ripple within and beyond borders.
  • 4 reasons why fast fashion will never be green | Mehdi Leman | Greenpeace | 17 March 2025
    Fast fashion brands flood the market with cheap, trendy clothing at an unsustainable rate, creating enormous environmental and social harm. The article lists four key reasons why fast fashion will never be green.
  • Making Oceans Off-Limits to Offshore Oil and Gas | CIEL | March 2025
    The series dives into the many risks and impacts of offshore oil and gas activity across its phases, from seismic exploration and drilling in the seabed to coastal processing and overseas transport of fossil fuels. Each brief looks at a different phase of oil and gas activity and discusses how the hazards inherent in routine operations and the risks of accidents endanger the world’s oceans and the communities, ecosystems, and climate that depend on them. 
  • Human-rights based NDCs. A Civil Society Guidebook | CIEL | March 2025
    Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are the national plans that each Party to the Paris Agreement is required to prepare and communicate every five years. The plans are meant to demonstrate countries’ contributions to the shared, global climate objectives, reflect their highest possible ambition, and need to demonstrate progress in terms of climate ambition and in the context of equity.

Events

See all

Jobs

See all

Learning

See all

Updates

See all

03 Apr 2025

Road to 2025 BRS COPs

Chemicals and Pollution | Health and Environment | Plastics | Trade and Environment

SDG3 | SDG12

23 Aug 2026

Ongoing Contests

Climate | Nature | Chemicals and Pollution

SDG11 | SDG12

Subscribe to Newsletter