Ministers of the environment, heads of UN organizations, and lead negotiators called for focusing on scaling up implementation, underscoring that complex global challenges “must be met with cooperation, compromise, and collective action.” Nine thematic roundtable sessions explored cross-cutting implementation issues at the local, regional, and global levels.

Delegates focused on financial and technological issues related to the phase-out of ozone depleting substances and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), with emphasis on the funding required for the 2027–2029 replenishment of the Multilateral Fund to ensure effective implementation.

The highlight of the Hamburg Sustainability Conference was the launch of the South-North Commission on Development, a new independent initiative to explore how international cooperation and multilateral institutions should evolve in an increasingly multipolar world.

Delegates faced the challenge of how the Basel Convention can meet growing, complex waste-related challenges such as trade in plastics, electronic waste (e-waste), batteries, and used textiles, while staying relevant to longstanding challenges such as ship recycling.