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“Our world is in deep trouble—and so too are the Sustainable Development Goals,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres, setting the tone for this year’s review of implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at a time of significant international crisis, uncertainty, and upheaval.

After a week of intense negotiations, delegates approved the summaries for policymakers and chapters of two new assessments: the sustainable use of wild species, and the methodological assessment of the diverse conceptualization of multiple values of nature and its benefits, including biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services.

Having amassed billions of dollars in voluntary commitments and pledges to save the Earth’s most vital resource, the curtains came down on the second UN Ocean Conference. This renewed commitment could not have come a moment too soon.

The “triple C crises” of COVID-19 pandemic, climate disasters, and emerging conflicts are converging on cities, pushing already marginalized populations further into poverty. Against this backdrop, many participants agreed that the world’s race towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be decided in cities, and it will be decided soon.

After six intense days of deliberation, delegates acknowledged that they are still far from agreement on a new global biodiversity framework. A fifth meeting of the Working Group is now likely and, in the view of many participants, necessary.

GEF Council Members endorsed the more than USD 5 billion replenishment for the next four-year period of the GEF and adopted Work Programs worth more than USD 238 million, launching projects that will contribute to a green and blue recovery and direct significant resources to small island developing States and least developed countries.

The Global Environment Facility Civil Society Organization Network came together to provide insights on micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises and their work in the eighth replenishment of the GEF Trust Fund and beyond.

With growing calls to move beyond GDP as a measure of national progress, the International Institute for Sustainable Development convened a seminar to explore the adoption of an inclusive wealth index.

Convening on the 30th anniversary of this unique institution, many point to the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development's success informing China’s policies on environment and development. Rich exchanges on issues ranging from nature-based solutions to greening the supply chain launch Phase VII of CCICED's work.