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At what is being referred to as the "African COP," political, industry, and civil society leaders voiced strong condemnations of shortcomings in adaptation financing for Africa.

“The world has found it easy to make capital move, I don’t know how an inanimate object can have priority over a breathing person,” said Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley at an event on reimagining the financial architecture of climate action, calling for humane immigration and just trade policies.

For the first time, countries agreed to recognize the need for finance to respond to loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change, and quickly established a fund and the necessary funding arrangements, with the details to be worked out over the coming year.

Delegates adopted 21 resolutions, including several intended to increase the scope and diversity of engagement in the work of the Wetlands Convention. These included promoting the role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in wetland management, connecting with youth, and expanding synergies and cooperation with other multilateral environmental agreements.

Convening under the theme, “Global Action for Local Impact,” GEO Week 2022 brought together practitioners to discuss the potential for earth observation to assist in addressing global challenges. The week was heavily focused on the future direction of GEO, with participants engaging in sessions related to the road to GEO post-2025.

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 other environmental issues, and delivering on the Kigali commitments.

Breakout sessions challenged attendees to consider where regional coordination and cooperation intersects with effective area-based conservation measures, marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, and addressing marine litter.

This meeting provided the opportunity for Member States and other stakeholders to state their views on what the future science-policy panel to contribute further to the sound management of chemicals and waste and to prevent pollution should look like. Many agreed it should be lean, flexible, and policy-relevant, not policy prescriptive.

Participants at the 26th Session of the FAO Committee on Forestry highlighted evidence of recent progress in conserving or restoring forests, and the need for integrating agriculture and forestry, given that “forest restoration” is only one aspect of a more comprehensive “land restoration,” and that agroforestry and agroecology are a necessary part of the future, and growing in importance.