Environment Key dates in 2026

Taken from the excellent newsletter Environment: What’s Up in GENeva | 5 – 11 January 2026 which you can subscribe to here.

19 – 23 January | World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026 | Davos, Switzerland

19 – 20 January | GEF-9 Replenishment (Third Meeting) | Bonn, Germany

26 – 27 January | High-Level Preparatory Meeting for the 2026 UN Water Conference | Dakar, Senegal

3 – 8 February | 12th Session of the Plenary of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES 12) | Manchester, United Kingdom

16 – 19 February | 6th Meeting of the CBD Subsidiary Body on Implementation | Rome, Italy

9– 15 February | 62nd Munich Security Conference | Munich, Germany

9 – 20 March | 31st Session of the International Seabed Authority Assembly and Council (Part I) | ISA31 | Kingston, Jamaica

23 March to 2 April | Third session of the Preparatory Commission (PrepCom III) for the entry into force of the Agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction | BBNJ PrepCom III | New York, United States of America

23 – 29 March | 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals | CMS COP15 | Campo Grande, Brazil

24 – 27 March | 64th session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change | IPCC-64 | Bangkok, Thailand

24 – 25 March | 43rd Meeting of UN-Water | Rome, Italy

26 – 29 March | 14th WTO Ministerial Conference | MC14 | Youndé, Cameroon

22 – 24 April | 4th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Escazú Agreement | Santiago, Chile

28 – 29 April | First International Conference on the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels | Santa Marta, Colombia

30 May – 6 June | 71st Meeting of the GEF Council and 8th GEF Assembly | Samarkand, Uzbekistan

8 – 18 June | 64th Sessions of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies | Bonn, Germany

6 – 15 July | High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development 2026 | HLPF 2026 | New York, United States

13 – 17 July | 48th meeting of the Open-ended Working Group of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer | OEWG-48 | Bangkok, Thailand

13 – 31 July | 31st Session of the International Seabed Authority Assembly and Council (Part II) | ISA31 | Kingston, Jamaica

17 – 28 August | 17th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification | UNCCD COP 17 | Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

8 – 22 September | 81st Session of the UN General Assembly, Opening and General Debate | UNGA 81 | New York, United States

14 – 18 September | 22nd Meeting of the Chemical Review Committee (Rotterdam Convention) | CRC-22 | Rome, Italy

21 – 25 September | 22nd Meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (Stockholm Convention) | POPRC-22 | Rome, Italy

28 September – 3 October | 70th Meeting of the International Whaling Commission | IWC70 | Hobart, Australia

19 – 30 October | 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP17) | Yerevan, Armenia

9 – 20 November | UN Climate Change Conference COP31 | Antalya, Türkiye

2 – 4 December | 2026 UN Water Conference | United Arab Emirates