Highlights and images for 2 February 2026

It was a historic day bogged down by procedural debate. The new global body that will connect scientists and policymakers to tackle chemicals, waste, and pollution challenges started its first-ever meeting. Its goals are lofty, and the scope of its work is potentially huge: everything from urban air pollution and clean drinking water, to forever chemicals and hazardous waste streams.

Want to dig deeper into today's talks? Read the full Earth Negotiations Bulletin daily report.

Before this new science-policy body can take on these critical problems affecting human health and the environment , it has to get its procedures right. The main focus of this meeting is finalizing the rules of procedure. These set out a common playbook for how the Panel will choose its leadership teams and take its decisions. Buy-in for these rules now will smooth the work of the Panel later, especially when potentially divisive issues arise.

A few Member States wanted to start using the draft rules of procedure already, on a provisional basis. But the rules are riddled with brackets, indicating areas where there is no agreement. For many countries, these rules are too much of a draft to helpfully guide the work. After a morning debate on what to do, Member States elected their first Chair, Osvaldo Alvarez Pérez (Chile) using the rule set out for this purpose by the UN Environment Assembly.

This compromise allowed work on the Panel’s rules of procedure to begin in earnest. Member States proceeded to go through the document rule-by-rule. The compromise also postponed the election of the rest of the Bureau members. The Bureau will play a crucial role in guiding the early years of the Panel and, for many, is a necessary group to get up and running as soon as possible.