Negotiator's toolkit

This comprehensive knowledge base will help you to understand and navigate multilateral environmental negotiations and related processes.

Negotiator's toolkit

Browse all resources

Resource type

  • Rules of procedure
  • Case studies
  • Manual
  • E-learning course
  • Video
  • Presentation
  • IISD/ENB summary meeting report

Topics

  • Environmental Governance
  • Chemicals and Waste
  • Climate and Atmosphere
  • Biological diversity
  • Marine and Freshwater

MEAs

  • Basel Convention
  • CBD
  • CITES
  • CMS
  • Rotterdam Convention
  • Stockholm Convention
  • UNCLOS
  • UNEA
  • UNFCCC

Keywords

Showing 1 - 9 of 16 results
IISD/ENB summary meeting report
|
2023

UN Climate Change Conference - United Arab Emirates Nov/Dec 2023

Parties adopted a decision operationalizing the new loss and damage fund and a number of parties announced pledges for its initial capitalization. But negotiations were difficult on the other central outcomes: the first Global Stocktake, the Global Goal on Adaptation

MEAs:
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Topics:
Environmental Governance,
Climate and Atmosphere
Keywords:
Adaptation, Climate change, Subsidiary Body for Implementation, Adaptation Fund, Indigenous peoples, Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice, Capacity building, Mitigation, Clean Development Mechanism, Small Island Developing States, Greenhouse gases, Least Developed Countries, Implementation, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Alliance of Small Island States, Carbon Market
Video
|
2023

Video example of election of Bureau members by secret ballot at the second session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-2).

Topics:
Environmental Governance
Keywords:
Secret ballot, Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee, International Agreement
inc-2 bureau
Case studies
|
2023

Decision-Making by Consensus

Examples highlighting how decision-making by consensus is not always straightforward, including a video of the second session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on plastic pollution (INC-2) showing the Chair's response to a number of points of order raised on this
MEAs:
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Topics:
Environmental Governance
Keywords:
Consensus, Voting, Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee, Formal objection
PDF Case-studyVideo Example
doha case study image
Case studies
|
2023

Elections by Secret Ballot

Includes examples of provisions on elections by secret ballot and video example of election by secret ballot at the second session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution (INC-2).
MEAs:
United Nations Environment Assembly,
Convention on Migratory Species,
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
Topics:
Environmental Governance
Keywords:
Secret ballot, Voting, Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee, International Agreement
Elections by Secret Ballot Case-Study.pdfVideo of election of Bureau members by secret ballot at INC-2 in Paris
plenary image
Manual
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2022

Managing Processes within the Framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity: A Guide for Presiding Officers

MEAs:
Convention on Biological Diversity
Topics:
Biological diversity
Keywords:
Voting, Working group, Biosafety Protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity, Subsidiary body, Point of order, Amendment, Amendment, Consensus, Negotiating blocs, Secret ballot, Formal objection, Information document, Subsidiary Body for Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, Financial rules, Compliance Committee, Non-governmental organizations, Small Island Developing States, Subsidiary Body for Implementation
manual cover
E-learning course
|
2022

Online Negotiations

As COVID-19 restrictions made in-person meetings impossible, many United Nations and Multilateral Environmental Agreement (MEA) meetings have moved to a virtual format. This course takes a closer look at how these negotiation processes are dealt with in a virtual context.
Topics:
Environmental Governance
Keywords:
Biosafety Protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity, COVID-19 pandemic, Meetings, Compliance Committee, Voting, Subsidiary body, Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management, Biosafety, Compliance, Consensus, Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol, Standing Committee, Non-governmental organizations, Regional groups, Economic Commission for Europe, Least Developed Countries
Online negs cover image
Presentation
|
2021

UNEP Training Presentation on Virtual Negotiations

Virtual MEA negotiations training provided by UNEP at the 17th Course on Multilateral Environmental Agreements (University of Eastern Finland – UNEP).
Topics:
Environmental Governance
Keywords:
Meetings, United Nations Environment Programme, Voting, Subsidiary body, Consensus, Standing Committee, Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management, United Nations General Assembly, Compliance
Virtual MEA negotiations presentation.pdfView
virtual negotiations presentation cover
Presentation
|
2021

Rules of Procedure and Consensus in MEA Negotiations: UNEP Training Slides

Topics:
Environmental Governance
Keywords:
Consensus, Voting, United Nations Environment Programme, Point of order, Conference Room Paper
rop presentation cover
IISD/ENB summary meeting report
|
2021

2021 Meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS COPs)

Parties and stakeholders to the three global hazardous chemicals and wastes conventions convened online to deal with urgent operational and substantive work including election of officers, the programmes of work and budgets for all three conventions, and a decision regarding

MEAs:
Rotterdam Convention,
Stockholm Convention,
Basel Convention
Topics:
Chemicals and Waste
Keywords:
Global Environment Facility, Wastes, Chemical Review Committee, Persistent Organic Pollutants, Compliance Committee, European Union, Financial rules, Hazardous wastes, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Conference Room Paper, Open-ended Working Group, Meetings, Scale of assessment, United Nations Environment Programme, Group of Latin American and Caribbean States, National Implementation Plan, Persistant Organic Pollutant Review Committee, Small Island Developing States, Trust fund