IISD/ENB Summary Meeting Reports

Delegates committed firmly to address threats to both the ozone layer and the global climate, designating a significant portion of the replenishment of the Multilateral Fund to the implementation of the Kigali Amendment, which will phase out hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and

Delegates adopted 46 proposals to increase or decrease controls on international trade in wildlife and wildlife products, bringing many species of sharks, lizards, turtles, fish, birds, frogs, and plants under the Convention’s control to ensure the sustainability of these species

Despite phasing out 98% of ozone depleting substances worldwide relative to a 1990 baseline and making major inroads in avoiding catastrophic climate change, parties grappled with recent scientific findings, whether and how to build on the Protocol’s success to tackle

As well as the landmark decision on controlling sulphur oxide emissions—which will have major health and environmental benefits for Mediterranean communities—COP 22 adopted several significant plans.

The meeting successfully highlighted the importance of transboundary water cooperation, welcomed Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, and Togo as new Parties, and saw the signing of the Ministerial Declaration on the Senegalo-Mauritanian Aquifer Basin by ministers from The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, and Senegal.

As the meeting closed, delegates agreed that the meeting sent an important signal that despite difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the goals of the Montreal Protocol are well on track and, while virtual meetings are difficult, they showed that

Parties adopted the Gandhinagar Declaration calling for migratory species and “ecological connectivity” to be integrated and prioritized in the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. Parties also added 10 new species to the Convention on Migratory Species Appendices, approved conservation plans for

Delegates to the 31st Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol successfully completed five days of negotiations, with the most pressing agenda items—terms of reference for the study on the 2021-2023 replenishment of the Multilateral Fund, the unexpected emissions

COP18 highlighted the increasing pressures on CITES as an instrument to counter the rising scale of biodiversity loss, as parties struggled to address stresses other than trade on wildlife populations, including habitat loss, disease outbreaks, and human-wildlife conflict. These are