In accordance with decisions BC-15/1, RC-10/2 and SC-10/2 of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention (BC COP-15), the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention (RC COP-10) and the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention (SC COP-10) are being held back to back in two segments: an online segment held from 26 to 30 July 2021 and a face-to-face segment being held from 6 to 17 June 2022 in Geneva. The theme of the meetings is "Global Agreements for a Healthy Planet: Sound management of chemicals and waste".

On 1 June 2022 in Stockholm, Sweden, the High-level Segment convened before the Stockholm+50 International Meeting got underway, 82 ministers met to focus their attention on chemicals and waste issues. The event was an opportunity for ministers to reflect on the connections among the triple planetary crises of climate change, nature, and pollution.

Watch highlights of the High-level Segment here and read the press release here.

Almost the entire global population (99%) breathes air that exceeds WHO air quality limits, and threatens their health.  A record number of over 6000 cities in 117 countries are now monitoring air quality, but the people living in them are still breathing unhealthy levels of fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide, with people in low and middle-income countries suffering the highest exposures.

The findings have prompted the World Health Organization to highlight the importance of curbing fossil fuel use and taking other tangible steps to reduce air pollution levels.

Released in the lead-up to World Health Day, which this year celebrates the theme Our planet, our health, the 2022 update of the World Health Organization’s air quality database introduces, for the first time, ground measurements of annual mean concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), a common urban pollutant and precursor of particulate matter and ozone.

Read more.

The five-day meeting in Bali agreed on making the evaluation of effectiveness an integral part of the Minamata Convention, extended the phase-out list of mercury-added products, and highlighted the importance of mainstreaming gender within the activities of the Convention.

Bali, 25 March 2022. Delegates and representatives of hundreds of parties and organizations participated in a week of intense negotiations in the second segment of the fourth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury, which took place in Bali, Indonesia under strict health measures from 21 to 25 March 2022.

Read the full press release.

The FlipFlopi dhow will tour around the Kenyan archipelago of Lamu for two weeks on a scientific research trip. The voyage will also raise awareness around the issue of plastic waste.

Every minute, the equivalent of a garbage truck of plastic litter is dumped into the ocean, this threatens sea ecosystems and human health. The issue of plastic pollution will be a central theme at UNEA-5.2 currently being held in Nairobi and online between 28 February and 2 March. During the meeting, one of the main focuses will be the possible development of a legally binding agreement on plastic pollution.

For more information on the FlipFlopi and its voyage view a press release on the voyage can be found here.

What a pleasure to join @deespeak & youth today. @UNEP's Tide Turners project works with 500,000 youth to #BeatPlasticPollution. Power of youth is phenomenal. Young people aren't responsible for the env. challenges we face, but they have a moral right to demand a healthy planet. pic.twitter.com/JTCAt3VTpE

— Inger Andersen (@andersen_inger) February 22, 2022

We Don't Have Time and Ragn-Sells are proud to present the fourth episode in a series of six in-depth table talks on the subject of circularity. This episode will focus on plastics and plastic waste, examining how we can fast forward, real and sustainable markets for recycled waste plastics. Hearing from guests about the global situation and spotlighting some breakthroughs in circularity such as new processes for bringing back previously hard to reuse plastics.

UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen in a speech delivered at the 156th meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives in Nairobi encouraged Member States to be ambitious, fast-tracking action to address the daily impact of plastics on human health, on ecosystem health, and on future generations. She made these remarks in the lead up to the UN Environment Assembly in 2022.

Read the full speech.

Under the project CounterMEASURE II, the United Nations Environment Programme and the Asian Institute of Technology Geoinformatics Center have developed a new Artificial Intelligence-based plastic detection model to generate plastic pollution heatmaps. While the first heatmap using street views will be ready in December, the team has started the technology application on river flow images using a CCTV camera. 

UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen hosted United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the UNEP Headquarters. In a speech delivered by Ms Andersen, she stated the leading role of Member States in curbing plastic pollution and welcomed the announcement that the United States will support multilateral negotiations on a global agreement to combat ocean plastic pollution at the United Nations Environment Assembly next year, 2022.

Read the full speech.

Guinness World Record holder and environmental activist Caroline Chaptini has led a team of young professionals to create a “Sustainable United Nations Flag” initiative at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA ) headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon. The “Young ESCWA” initiative, launched in line with ESCWA's efforts to promote sustainability in the Arab region, involved the collection of white and blue plastic bottle caps over a period of one month then transforming them into a huge UN flag. Caroline Chaptini is a young Lebanese artist known for her projects on reducing plastic waste. The flag now decorates a wall at the main entrance of the UN Headquarters in Beirut.

The Young ESCWA Network was launched in 2019 to empower UN junior staff to drive innovation and positive change in the Commission. ESCWA staff members joined in the collection of bottle caps, activating their networks of friends and family to gather as many items as possible. The invaluable help of the housekeeping staff at the UN house was also key to the initiative’s success. The flag was finalized in a day and a half of passionate collective work.