https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-03/state-global-environmental-gov...
The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) has published its annual assessment of the state of global environmental governance. Building on Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) coverage of international negotiations, the report takes stock of 2023, analyzing triumphs and misses of the international effort to build a better future for our planet. It also looks down the road to what the coming months hold for environmental multilateralism.
Titled, ‘State of Global Environmental Governance 2023,’ the fifth edition of the report shares insights gained from observing talks on the many areas of environment and sustainable development, including the SDGs, climate change, biodiversity, chemicals, forests, and land.
Among 2023’s milestones, the report highlights the adoption of the treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) and the Global Framework on Chemicals, as well as advances in the negotiations towards a plastics treaty. Casting a critical look at multilateral processes, it identifies missed opportunities to advance the SDGs, climate action, and chemical governance.
The report observes that “our food systems, financial systems, energy mix, development assistance, and trade patterns… continue to undermine the goals set out in several treaties and declarations.” Drawing attention to several stocktaking exercises carried out in 2023 on many issues, it assesses “the extent of the problems and future directions to resolve them” in the areas of sustainable development, chemical pollution, agriculture, climate change, and biodiversity.
This year’s edition of the report includes a dedicated chapter on geopolitics and the impacts of conflict on environmental cooperation, including procedural tensions in many multilateral processes and obstacles to cross-border data collection and sharing to address shared challenges.
The 2023 State of Global Environmental Governance report was published on 12 March 2014. It was edited by Jen Allan, PhD, with contributions from Elena Kosolapova, PhD, Jessica Templeton, PhD, and Lynn Wagner, PhD. The foreword was written by Ambassador Peter Thomson, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean.
ENB provides a variety of multimedia informational resources for sustainable development policymakers, including daily coverage of international negotiations, analyses, and photos. It is recognized for its objectivity and expertise in international environment and sustainable development policy. [Publication: State of Global Environmental Governance 2023] [Publication Landing Page]
