The Future of Multilateralism: Drivers and Scenarios - presentation at the Academic Council of the UN 39 Conference

Between now and 2028, we have the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (including the SDGs) Heads of State Summit next year. 

We know that we are far behind in implementing the SDGs and the climate and biodiversity agreements. 

This will be a vital time to accelerate SDG implementation up to 2030.

We also have the outcomes of UN80 reform, particularly work package 27 on the environment.

 

I want to focus on UN80 and the environment, otherwise known as work package 27

 

I have been involved with colleagues in this for the past year.  

UN80 and the environment reopened the possibility of advancing UNEP ED Klaus Toepfer’s push to cluster MEAs into three areas: chemicals and waste, biodiversity, and climate change.

 

Achim Steiner, the next UNEP ED, succeeded in the three chemical and waste conventions: Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS). 

Under his successor Eric Solheim, the process did not continue

 

A team of former member-state representatives and academics worked on 7 papers, all of which are available on the Stakeholder Forum website.

 

The papers were reviewed by the relevant people in the different UN bodies and by member state representatives who were engaged in the areas to ensure they were accurate.

 

Our process was to publish the papers first as IPS News articles between June and August 2025, then as a consolidated report, which was sent to both the Committee of Permanent Representatives in Nairobi and the New York Mission in September 2025.

 

In early October the Friends of Governance for SustainableDevelopment, which is the governments of Croatia, Germany, Indonesia, Morocco, Nigeria, Romania hosted a workshop for member states from Nairobi/Geneva/New York and capitals which was opened by the former head of UNEP Elizabath Dowdeswell and closed by Ms Suzuki from the UN 80 secretariat,  A summary of the outcome was added to the original report and recirculated to member states in preparation for UNEA 7.

 

The key  papers were

1.      An overview of what clustering BRS has achieved

2.      Clustering the BRS as proof of concept

3.      Clustering the three biodev conventions under UNEP

4.      The clustering of the UNFCCC and the ozone process

5.      Better coordination of the science ecosystem, including GEO and the three science panels

6.      The re-establishment of the Global Environmental Ministers Forum

7.      The funding of the three main cluster areas

 

In the end, we did not advance all these because member states don’t have the political space for more than a couple of ideas. The three we did move forward were

1.      The coordination of the science ecosystem including GEO and the three science panels

2.      The reform of the EMG

3.      Proof of concept on BRS and then the path to cluster the three biodev conventions

 

We were not able to get text into the UNEA 7 relevant resolution. Member states

 

Member states asked for a more detailed proof of concept on BSR linked to all the relevant text and what would be the timeline to do something like this for the biodev conventions

 

The approach to the three biodev conventions under UNEP CITIES, CMS, and CBD was reviewed by experts from each convention.

  

Better coordination of the science bodies was also strongly supported, and finally, the reform of the EMG: we have been told that a number of our recommendations will be submitted to the SG.

 

Our next stage will be hosting a Friends of governance workshop for member states in October to respond to wp 27

 

So should the UNGA have the text we want, which would look something like this

“We request the three UNEP-administered biodiversity conventions, CITIES, CMF, and CBD, to have on their agenda for their next meeting exploring the process for clustering with each other to ensure a stronger voice for biodiversity and a more effective implementation at the national level."

 

This recognizes and respects the mandate of each convention, and the result could be, by 2030 – with an additional push in 2028 a stronger biodiversity ecosystem. This would support particular actions in the Pact for the Future on nature and biodiversity.

 

The EMG membership consists of the 51 specialized agencies, programmes and organs of the United Nations, including the secretariats of the Multilateral Environmental Agreements.

 

The second is a change in the mandate of the EMG, which identifies issues on the international environmental agenda that warrant cooperation and finds ways of engaging its collective capacity in coherent management responses to those issues. Including funding for joint work between different bodies to emphasize that the environment is not a siloed approach but one that can reflect a new collaborative approach across different bodies in the UN.