When delegates from nearly every nation gathered in Geneva earlier this month, the meeting on the agenda was procedural but carried heavy symbolic weight: electing a new chair to lead negotiations on what could become the world’s first legally binding treaty on plastic pollution. In a one-day resumed session of
When governments moved to restart stalled negotiations on a global plastics treaty in Geneva earlier this month, they turned to a diplomat shaped not by a single issue, but by the slow accumulation of trust, credibility, and experience across climate, oceans, and multilateral governance. Julio Cordano, newly elected Chair of
In the landscape of climate disclosure and land conservation, Kristina Wyatt has emerged as a rare leader who translates the language of capital markets into the preservation of the physical world. Her appointment in early 2026 as Executive Vice President and General Counsel for The Conservation Fund marks a strategic
For years, governments and financial institutions have pledged to protect nature, halt biodiversity loss, and build resilience in the face of climate change. Yet a new global assessment makes clear that the world’s financial system continues to move in the opposite direction. According to insights from the State of Finance
Peace Boat US UN engagements in 2025 unfolded across a series of major United Nations and multilateral convenings, reflecting an expanding role for civil society actors operating within formal ocean, climate, and peace processes. Over the course of the year, Peace Boat US participated in UN conferences, diplomatic forums, and
GEF approves $372 million for a new round of environmental projects as the Global Environment Facility Council agreed funding for 36 programmes aimed at biodiversity protection, climate adaptation, and ecosystem restoration across developing countries. The approvals were made at the GEF Council meeting in December 2025 and will support initiatives
Japan mega-solar regulations are set to tighten as the government moves to curb large-scale solar power developments, ending financial support for some projects in an effort to protect the natural environment, ensure safety, and preserve landscapes. The measures form part of a package of countermeasures targeting mega-scale solar farms endorsed
Sinkholes in Turkey’s agricultural heartland are spreading at an accelerating pace, carving through fields in the country’s central Konya Basin as drought and groundwater depletion place growing strain on one of Turkey’s most important food-producing regions. Across farmland producing maize, wheat, and sugar beet, vast craters have opened without warning,
The European Union has completed the legislative process to delay and simplify its landmark deforestation law, formally resetting the implementation timeline for one of the bloc’s most far-reaching trade and environmental regulations. On Thursday, the European Council adopted amendments to the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), confirming a one-year postponement of
New York, 18 December 2025 — A major financing package of US$67 million approved by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) is set to accelerate frontline environmental action in vulnerable ecosystems and communities across Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and North Africa, with implementation support from the
