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Newsletter 07 Apr 2025

Environment: What’s Up in GENeva | 7 – 13 April 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.

Image of the week | In the margins of the 2025 Regional Forum on Sustainable Development for the UNECE Region, the Ethical Fashion Initiative set up a pop-up store in building H of Palais des Nations, presenting a selection of items from businesses in Afghanistan, Asia and Africa, proceeds of which contribute to support the training of Afghan women in embroidery. © UNEP/GEN, 2 April 2025.

Road to the Meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions

At the end of this month, the 2025 Meetings of the conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions (BRS COPs) will start convening in Geneva. Participants can register online until 20 April 2025, after this date, only on-site registration will be possible.

The Road to 2025 BRS COPs series, organized by the Geneva Environment Network in collaboration with various partners has been providing information on preparations and facilitating dialogues on key issues to be discussed at the meetings. Kicking off with a session organized with the BRS Secretariat on preparations for the COPs in December 2024, the events explored topics such as lead chromates trade (4 February 2025), increasing the visibility of occupational health and safety victims (OSH) of chemicals and increasing the effectiveness of the Rotterdam Convention through stronger human rights implementation (19 March 2025), the New Guidance for Sustainable Remediation in the context of POP-contaminated sites (20 March 2025), and the impacts of pesticides on human rights (3 April 2025). The series will conclude this week with two additional events:

On the final stage of preparation for the COPs, other key moments taking place this week and resources include:

  • Briefings for journalists and communicators | 8 April 2025 | 10:00 CEST | Palais des Nations
  • Until 4 May 2025, a photo exhibition at the Rotonde du Mont Blanc will highlight the work of the Conventions.
  • Covering Plastic Waste at the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention | Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) | 31 March 2025
    Briefing highlighting important elements such as concluding amendments for legal clarity in waste classifications, strengthening the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure, ensuring further considerations on plastic waste are in line with the most up-to-date science, maintaining the integrity of the Basel Convention’s role in transboundary plastic waste management.

→ Find information on the upcoming COPs on the dedicated 2025 BRS COPs page.

Outcomes of the 58th Session of the Human Rights Council

The 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC58) came to a conclusion in Geneva on 4 April, with the adoption of environment-related resolutions:

  • A/HRC/RES/58/16 | The human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment: Ocean and Human Rights | Adopted without a vote
    • Emphasizing the importance of States to take decisive action to address plastic pollution, throughout the full life cycle of plastic, including in the marine environment, and highlighting the specific and severe impacts of plastic pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss on the ocean, which jeopardize the realisation of human rights, including the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, while underscoring the transboundary nature of plastic pollution and the need for enhanced global cooperation to effectively address this crisis
    • Noting international instruments, such as the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (The Aarhus Convention) and the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean (the Escazu Agreement)
    • Noting with satisfaction that States have recognized that the ocean, seas and coastal areas form an integrated and essential component of the Earth’s ecosystem and are critical to ensure its sustainability, and that international law…
    • Reaffirming that the protection and preservation of the ocean are crucial for the full enjoyment of human rights for all, as are the understanding of the importance of the ocean in matters of addressing pollution, mitigating climate change, strengthening biodiversity and ecosystems, and ensuring sustainable food security and renewable energy
      • Encourages States to constructively engage in the United Nations Ocean Conference, to take place in Nice, France, in June 2025, and to consider the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment in its proceedings and outcomes
      • Calls upon States (h) To implement, in all their activities, the precautionary principle or precautionary approach, as appropriate, for the effective protection of marine and coastal ecosystems;
      • Encourages States (o) To ratify the Agreement 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
  • A/HRC/RES/58/3 | The negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights | Adopted (Yes 28 | No 16 | 3 Abstentions)
    • Deeply disturbed by the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the right to life, […] as well as the right to development and the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment
    • Expresses its deep concern over the increasing negative effects of unilateral coercive measures on the environment and natural resources, leading to serious violations of human rights of targeted populations, and strongly condemns the continued unilateral application of such measures, which result in various environmental transboundary and transgenerational implications for present and future generations;
  • A/HRC/RES/58/4 | Cultural rights and the protection of cultural heritage | Adopted without a vote
    • Reaffirming that safeguarding the enjoyment of cultural rights may form a crucial part of the response to many current global challenges, among others the adverse effects of climate change and the scourge of terrorism
  • A/HRC/RES/58/9 | Question of the realization in all countries of economic, social and cultural rights | Adopted without a vote
    • Recognizing with concern the adverse impacts of climate change, particularly on climate-vulnerable countries, including Small Island Developing States, which undermine the enjoyment of human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights, and stressing the need for scaled-up climate finance, in accordance with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement to support adaptation and mitigation measures and to address loss and damage
    • Stresses the importance of providing and mobilizing sustainable, affordable, accessible, transparent, adequate and predictable development finance from all sources… recognizing the instrumentality of financing for development and climate finance to this effect, as well as the importance of fulfilling Official Development Assistance commitments;
  • A/HRC/RES/58/10 | Mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food | Adopted without a vote
    • Decides to extend the mandate of Special Rapporteur for a period of three years to enable the mandate holder to continue to work in accordance with the mandate established by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 6/2 of 27 September 2007
  • A/HRC/RES/58/12 | Effects of foreign debt and other related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of all human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights | Adopted (Yes 29 | No 12 | 6 Abstentions)
    • Emphasizing the interconnectedness of debt sustainability, climate action and the realization of human rights, particularly in climate-vulnerable States, and recognizing the imperative to adopt integrated approaches that leverage climate finance to address both debt burdens and climate-related challenges, ensuring that climate investments contribute to long-term resilience and the fulfillment of economic, social and cultural rights
  • A/HRC/RES/58/22 | The impact of anti-personnel mines on the full enjoyment of all human rights | Adopted without a vote
    • Reaffirming the determination to put an end to the suffering and casualties caused by anti-personnel mines, which kill or maim thousands of people every year, and which impede sustainable development, and cause harm to ecosystems, including loss of biodiversity, soil degradation, and water contamination, negatively impacting a clean, healthy and sustainable environment
    • Recognizing the severe impact of anti-personnel mines on the enjoyment of the civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights of individuals, especially survivors of anti-personnel mine explosions, particularly in developing countries who often face significant barriers in accessing essential medical care, rehabilitation services, environmental remediation and opportunities for social and economic reintegration, as well as for affected communities, as mine contamination prevents the use of large areas of land, compromising agricultural production, food security, and destroying livelihoods.
  • A/HRC/RES/58/23 | Human rights defenders and new and emerging technologies: protecting human rights defenders, including women human rights defenders, in the digital age | Norway | Adopted without a vote
    • Strongly condemns the violence against and the criminalization, intimidation, attacks, torture, enforced disappearance and killing of, and all other human rights violations or abuses online and offline against, human rights defenders, including women, environmental and Indigenous human rights defenders, by State and non-State actors, stresses the need to combat impunity by ensuring that those responsible for violations and abuses against human rights defenders, or against their legal representatives, associates and family members, are promptly brought to justice through impartial and independent investigations, and underlines that ensuring accountability is a key element in preventing future violations and abuses of international human rights.

It is also to be noted that Costa Rica delivered a statement on behalf of 45+ countries during the interactive dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to a healthy environment, reminding that environmental human rights defenders are amongst the most at-risk human rights defenders in the world.

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 HRC58, side events, and further resources which are available on our dedicated HRC58 and the environment update.

Continuing the advancement of 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 that are expected to end soon include:

  • Country visit to Dominica | UN Special Rapporteur on climate change and human rights
    The UN Special Rapporteur on climate change and human rights will conduct her official visit to Dominica from 7 to 14 May 2025. The visit will include discussions with government officials and representatives of civil society about good practices and challenges in the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change. The UN Special Rapporteur is calling for feedback in relation to the visit. The deadline for submission is 7 April 2025.
  • Human Rights Council Panel Discussion and OHCHR analytical report on the realization of the rights to work and to social security in the informal economy, in the context of sustainable and inclusive economies | OHCHR
    Through the resolution 55/9, the Human Rights Council decided to organize a one-day panel discussion on the realization of the rights to work and to social security in the informal economy, in the context of sustainable and inclusive economies, with an emphasis on the importance of international cooperation and partnerships in this regard, to identify major challenges, experiences and best practices, including on the impact of new digital technologies and climate change on the informality of employment and the working conditions of workers in the informal economy. It also requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to prepare an analytical report based on the panel discussion, and to submit the report to the Human Rights Council at its sixtieth session. The deadline for submission is 10 April 2025.
  • Environmental impact assessments, strategic environmental impact assessments and the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment | UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment
    To inform the thematic report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment to be presented to the United Nations General Assembly’s eightieth session, regarding environmental impact assessments (EIA) and strategic impact assessments (SEA), as an obligation to respect, protect and fulfil human rights, including the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. The deadline for submission is 15 April 2025.

Enhanced Global Cooperation to Effectively Address the Plastic Crisis

With 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 four months, actors in Geneva are ready to contribute to a successful negotiation → More in our dedicated update.

Processes and research continue informing on the impacts of plastics on people and the planet and on ambitious action to tackle it:

  • The 58th Session of the Human Rights Council adopted without a vote resolution A/HRC/RES/58/16, “The human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment: Ocean and Human Rights”, which emphasizes the importance of States taking decisive action to address plastic pollution throughout the full life cycle of plastic, and how plastic pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss on the ocean jeopardize the realization of human rights, including the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. It underscores the transboundary nature of plastic pollution and the need for enhanced global cooperation to effectively address the plastic crisis. → Read CIEL press release
  • This week, WTO members will meet for the Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade (DPP) for an Africa Region Workshop on 8 April and a Pre-plenary meeting on 9 April to review the progress of the DPP in discussing the eight “Points of Focus” (PFs) towards “further concrete, pragmatic and effective outcomes” by the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC14).
  • The Knowledge Sharing Series EPR in the Plastics, organized by the World Bank Global Environment Department, with support from PROBLUE and UNITAR will kick off with a session on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in the plastics sector. Join online on 10 April 2025 at 14:00 CEST.
  • Stand.earth Research Group (SRG) and CIEL released a new research unveiling the toxic supply chain driving global plastic production, shining new light on the critical players driving the plastics and climate crises. The research reveals that some of the world’s largest household brands are driving fossil fuel expansion in Texas through their demand for plastic packaging. The findings were used to build the Fracked Plastics Map, an interactive tool that traces the connections between more than 25 major consumer brands and petrochemicals sourced from fracking in Texas’ Permian Basin, including major intermediaries.
  • ASEAN’s Position in Plastic Treaty Negotiations: Paper Tiger, Plastic Dragon? | Yuyun Ismawati and Wong Pui Yi | The Diplomat | 4 April 2025
    ASEAN has become an attractive destination for petrochemical expansion and plastic waste exports, given its proximity to China and regional appetite for foreign investment. This will come at high risks to the region.
  • Microplastics could be hotspots for antimicrobial resistance | Advance Science News | 3 April 2025
    Scientists discovered bacteria exposed to microplastics, especially polystyrene, create a biofilm and perfect ‘breeding ground’ for antimicrobial resistance by housing resistant DNA and producing inactive cells that evade antibiotics.
  • The studies highlighting that Chewing Gum Releases Hundreds of Microplastics In Your Mouth and New Evidence Links Microplastics with Chronic Disease that had started making the news at the end of March continued make the news around the world last week.

Enjoy a Green Spring in Geneva

From exhibitions and conferences to guided tours or workshops, enjoy and discover Geneva’s Green Spring activities, including this week:

  • Festival du Film Vert 2025 | Until 13 April 2025
    The French-speaking Switzerland’s premier documentary festival dedicated to the environment will conclude this week.
  • Quel(s) Plan(s) B pour la transition énergétique en cas de pénurie ou d’emballement climatique | 8 April 2025 | Hôtel Calvy
    Join this conference addressing topics such as the state of decarbonization of the energy system in Europe and the world, the contribution of renewable and nuclear energies and sobriety, and potential plan B options in the event of shortages or climate change runaway.
  • Herbiers sous-lacustres : les secrets des plantes du Léman | 8 April 2025 | Association pour la Sauvegarde du Léman
    Dive into the fascinating world of Lake Geneva’s aquatic plants with this interactive event at Espace Léman, which offers a unique glimpse into the hidden ecosystems beneath the surface. Discover the vital role of submerged meadows—underwater forests teeming with life—and learn to identify key species that serve as indicators of the lake’s health.
  • Visite Parapluie | 9 April 2025 | Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques
    Come equipped with your umbrella and explore the mysteries of the equatorial forest through a visit of a Geneva tropical greenhouse! You will discover the vital role of water and some of the surprising, yet amazing adaptations found in tropical environments.
  • Des animaux au jardin botanique | 9 April 2025 | Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques
    Get to know the goats and sheep’s ancient breeds of the ProSpecieRara foundation with the gardeners! As part of the Geneva Botanical Garden’s Green Workshops, children are invited to share their passion for the world of plants and botany in a fun and educational way. Thematic investigations, sensory discoveries, botanical explorations and many other activities are on the program.
  • Les ailes du Léman: découvrir les oiseaux – Animation famille | 9 April 2025 | Association pour la sauvegarde du Léman
    Learn more about bird species found around the Lac Léman and join the guided tour of its winged inhabitants with the whole family! With 130 of observed bird species, the Lac Léman is a true sanctuary for birdlife. After an introduction to different bird groups and their characteristics at Espace Léman, take a tour along the lakeshore to observe these species in their natural environment.
  • Développement des communautés énergétiques locales dans les zones rurales de Suisse: potentiel selon les mesures d’incitation et scénarios économiques | 10 April 2025 | Uni Carl-Vogt
    Explore the potential of local energy communities in rural Switzerland through economic scenarios and incentive measures. 
  • La Nuit est Belle! – Edition 2025 | 11 April to 13 April 2025 | La Nuit est Belle!
    For its fifth edition, La Nuit est Belle! celebrates the culture of the night. Across 149 participating communes in Greater Geneva, streetlights will go dark, inviting residents to rediscover the beauty of the night sky and explore nocturnal life. Over 50 events are planned, from astronomical observations to artistic performances and nature walks, offering a unique experience of the nocturnal world. This cross-border initiative, launched to raise awareness about light pollution, encourages cities to embrace the darkness and appreciate the natural rhythms of night.
  • Couleurs et impressions | 12 April 2025 | Centre nature de la Libellule
    Join us for a creative workshop inspired by nature! Explore the magic of botanical printing on paper and fabric, and craft your own homemade watercolor palette using natural pigments.
  • Concert au Moulin de Vert | 13 April 2025 | Réserve Naturelle du Moulin de Vert
    Celebrate the arrival of spring with an early morning walk through the Moulin de Vert Nature Reserve, listening to the enchanting courtship songs of local birds.
  • Les chants de La Laire au fil des saisons | 13 April 2025 | La Laire
    Join this guided birdwatching walk along the Laire, where newly arrived migratory birds add their voices to the soundscape of spring.
  • Visite thématique “Penser la durabilité avec les collections du MEG” | 13 April 2025 | Musée d’ethnographie de Genève
    Explore the relationships between human beings and their environment! Using objects from the permanent exhibition as a starting point, this thematic visit is an invitation to draw inspiration from a variety of ways of relating to living things, to think of alternatives to current climatic degradations and to consider prospects for sustainable action.
  • Art et évolution | Until 31 May 2025 | Conservatory and Botanical Garden
    Showcasing artistic interpretations of evolutionary concepts by school groups, the exhibition features their creative works alongside reflections on their learning process. Explore this unique blend of science and art in the passage under Route de Lausanne.
  • Dialogues insolites entre le Muséum d’histoire naturelle de Genève et le Conservatoire botanique de Genève | Until 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.

What (Else) To Read Next?

  • The Legitimacy of EU Environmental Governance and the Role of the European Courts | Oxford University Press | Upcoming 4 July 2025
    This volume explores how the environment affects the ways in which the courts can support the legitimacy of EU governance, and, in turn, what the courts themselves bring to the table in enhancing that legitimacy.
  • Where EV batteries go to die – and be reborn | BBC | 5 April 2025
    Batteries for electric vehicles are notoriously difficult to recycle, but growing demand for the rare metals they contain is leading to innovative new ways of retrieving them from used power cells. “One of the big challenges is that the minerals are kind of concentrated in certain places,” says Christian Marston, president and chief operating officer of Altilium. That’s why there’s now a race to find other ways of sourcing those key minerals. Recycling batteries is one option, but is also notoriously difficult. Staff at Altilium, however, say they’ve cracked it.
  • BP Chairman Helge Lund to Step Down Amid Push for Changes at Oil Major | The Wall Street Journal | 4 April 2025
    Departure comes as energy giant abandons green strategy in pivot back to fossil fuels.
  • Greece storms were made wetter and more destructive by climate change, study finds | Euronews | 3 April 2025
    The severe storms in Greece align with Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projections of increasing extreme weather in the Mediterranean, driven by rising sea surface temperatures. The analysis shows a clear trend: storms are becoming wetter, amplifying flood risks.
  • After outcry, Brazil Supreme Court nixes proposal for mining on Indigenous lands | Mongabay | 3 April 2025
    Brazil’s Supreme Court backed down and withdrew its proposal to open up Indigenous territories to mining and economic activities from a controversial bill that critics say violates the Constitution.
  • TESS Annual Report 2024 | Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs (TESS) | 3 April 2025
    2024 was a busy year for international trade and environmental governance. A number of major intergovernmental negotiations and summits were convened, but faced a backdrop of rising geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty. Together, these continue to threaten both economic and environmental cooperation—including on trade and sustainability—and to challenge multilateralism.
  • Research shows that a majority of Christian religious leaders accept the reality of climate change but have never mentioned it to their congregations | The Conversation | 2 April 2025
    These findings highlight that religious leaders have a unique power to influence climate action – but only if they let their beliefs be known.
  • Fossil fuel nations to see value of their economies shrink under new UN-agreed measure | Climate Home News | 1 April 2025
    At the UN Statistical Commission’s annual session in New York last month, all governments decided that net domestic product (NDP) – as opposed to gross domestic product (GDP) – “will be identified as the conceptually preferred measure of economic growth”. NDP includes the depletion of non-renewable natural resources like coal, oil and gas as a cost of production, shrinking their value in the calculation.
  • L’UNIL classe les médicaments selon leur impact sur l’environnement | Blick | 1 April 2025
    Une nouvelle recherche de l’UNIL classe les médicaments selon leur danger pour l’environnement aquatique. L’étude révèle que certains antidouleurs et antibiotiques largement utilisés peuvent gravement affecter la santé de la faune dans les lacs et rivières.
  • Average person will be 40% poorer if world warms by 4C, new research shows | The Guardian | 1 April 2025
    Economic models have systematically underestimated how global heating will affect people’s wealth, according to a new study that finds 4C warming will make the average person 40% poorer – an almost four-fold increase on some estimates.

Events

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World Day

World Health Day 2025

07 Apr 2025

Air Pollution | Chemicals and Pollution | Climate | Health and Environment

SDG3

Body Meeting

71st Session of the UNECE

09 – 10 Apr 2025

Palais des Nations | Room XVII

UNECE

Climate | Green Economy

SDG9 | SDG13

Jobs

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Consultant

Deputy Communications Lead

10 Apr 2025

UNEP FI

Green Economy | Climate | Trade and Environment | Science

SDG9 | SDG12 | SDG13

Consultant

Risk Centre Consultant

10 Apr 2025

UNEP FI

Climate | Green Economy | Human Rights and Environment

SDG13 | SDG16 | SDG17

Learning

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Course in Geneva

Nature-Positive Economy

29 Sep 2025 – 06 Mar 2026

Maison de la Paix & Online

IHEID

Nature | Green Economy

SDG8 | SDG14 | SDG15

Updates

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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

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