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Many participants raised the need for a science-policy interface (SPI) on chemicals and wastes—noting any such body should be global, authoritative, “horizon scanning,” prestigious, independent and inclusive.

Stressing that banning or regulating individual chemicals is insufficient, the event called for fundamental regulations that apply to all chemicals at the global level. 

The key focus of the delegates was to discuss and agree on a Chair’s Summary to inform the fifth meeting of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) on how best to tackle marine litter and microplastics.

With three potential persistent organic pollutants (POPs) under review and substantial technical work related to implementation of its past recommendations, the Committee successfully completed its full pre-COVID-19 pandemic agenda to avoid delaying action on issues that pose risks to human health and/or the environment.

The Council meetings included extensive discussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, deliberating the pandemic’s impact on project management, and considered a white paper by the GEF COVID-19 Task Force outlining how environmental action can reduce future threats of disease outbreak. The GEF Council also endorsed a new private sector engagement strategy, outlining how the GEF will work in a systematic manner with industry groups, companies, and investors to reverse unsustainable global trends and deliver global environmental benefits.

The GEF Council adopted the first Work Program since the approval of the seventh replenishment of the GEF Trust Fund (GEF-7). The Work Program comprised 18 projects in 25 recipient countries, and amounted to USD 157.8 million. In addition, the Council of the LDCF/SCCF adopted a Work Program comprising six project concepts, with resources amounting to USD 45.85 million.