The nearly USD 700 million Work Program approved focuses heavily on chemicals and waste at a time when the GEF hopes to prove to the multilateral community it has the capacity to serve as the financial mechanism for a global plastics treaty and that it could play a significant role in realizing the vision of the Global Framework on Chemicals.

IPCC delegates will gather to review draft work on key elements of their Seventh Assessment Report—including draft outline of each Working Group—as well as the IPCC Trust Fund Programme and budget for the years 2024 to 2027.

The Freshwater Challenge to accelerate restoration of rivers and wetlands by 2030 has attracted 50 countries, and raised high hopes that it can provide a strategic way to help countries meet national commitments across the three Rio Conventions.

The Great Green Wall Initiative in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) teems with examples of how small grants can incubate big change, ranging from stories of beekeeping, growing drought-resistant melons in arid areas to using art and painting to build capacity for sustainable tree planting.