Strengthening Multilateralism through Science

Day 1, Tuesday 29 November 2022 (in-person & online) 

10:00-11:15 CET - High-level Political Panel "Science Diplomacy" 

Keynote speeches 

Inger ANDERSEN, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme (video-message) 

Jiří KOZÁK, First Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Czech Republic (video-message) 

Jan DUSÍK, Deputy Minister of the Environment, Czech Republic (welcome note)

Panel discussion 

Bitange NDEMO, Ambassador of Kenya to the Kingdom of Belgium

Joanna DRAKE, Deputy Director-General of DG RTD, European Commission

Javi LÓPEZ, Member of European Parliament

Daan du TOIT, Deputy Director-General, International Cooperation and Resources, Department of Science and Innovation, Republic of South Africa

Petr KAISER, Special Envoy for Science Diplomacy, Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Conclusions 

Andrea HINWOOD, Chief Scientist, UNEP 

Jan DUSIK, Deputy Minister of the Environment of the Czech Republic 

Moderator 

Sherri ALDIS, Director, United Nations Regional Information Centre for Western Europe (UNRIC) 

11:30 – 13:00 CET - Second Session: “Science and Global Cooperation” 

Presentations: State of the Environment 

Jian LIU, Director of Science Division, UNEP: The World Environment Situation Room 

Hans BRUYNINCKX, Executive Director, European Environment Agency: The State of Europe's Environment: Knowledge for Action

Panel discussion 

Stephen QUEST, Director-General of JRC, European Commission

Cathy Yitong LI, UN Youth Advisor

Radka WILDOVÁ, Deputy-Minister for Higher Education, Science and Research, Czech Republic (online)

Kurt DEKETELAERE, Secretary-General, League of European Research Universities

Constance KANN, Director of Sustainability and Quality Management Department, European Investment Bank

Andrea HINWOOD, Chief Scientist, UNEP

Conclusion 

Patrick CHILD, Deputy Director General, DG Environment, European Commission 

Moderator 

Veronika Hunt ŠAFRÁNKOVÁ, Head, UNEP Brussels 

Day 2, Wednesday 30 November 2022 (online) 

10:00-11:30 CET - Third Session: "From Science to Zero Pollution Actions" 

Opening & Moderator 

Luc BAS, Head of Coordination and Strategy, European Environment Agency 

Keynote speech by youth representative: 

Alphonce Munyao MUIA, Member of the UNEP Children and Youth Major Group Global Steering Committee

Panel discussion 

Andrea HINWOOD, Chief Scientist, UNEP

María NEIRA, Director Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health, WHO

Joachim D'EUGENIO, Policy Advisor, Zero Pollution, DG ENV, European Commission

Miroslav HAVRÁNEK, Director, Czech Environmental Information Agency

Patrizia HEIDEGGER, Director of Global Policies and Sustainability, European Environment Bureau

Conclusions  

Luc BAS, Head of Coordination and Strategy, European Environment Agency 

The UNEP report Making Peace with Nature (2021) highlights that climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution are three self-inflicted and interconnected planetary crises that put the well-being of current and future generations at an unacceptable risk. According to the report, society is failing to meet most of its commitments, which are based on a generally agreed understanding of the underlying science. However, there remains a disconnection between science and policy. This disconnection is explicitly recognized in the UN Secretary General’s report “Our Common Agenda,” which calls for change to ensure a prominent voice for science and expertise, where policy and budget decisions should be backed by science.

Key Messages:

• A multilateral approach is necessary to address the complexity and multidimensionality of the planetary crisis.

• Science in diplomacy is central in generating systemic responses to challenges and deliver solutions and opportunities on the ground.

• Science diplomacy has a crucial role in closing the existing gap between science and policy.

• Using science, facts and reliable information is also a way to combat the rampant mis- and disinformation that threaten public support for and implementation of impactful climate and other policies.

• There is a need to reflect on the current limitations of science in the political realm and ensuring its accessibility to inform political negotiations and development efforts. Diplomacy needs to legitimize the role of science in foreign policy and in national political agendas.

• Together, science and diplomacy need to learn the best way to communicate with each other and enhance and construct a new and more inclusive multilateralism.

The next seven years require an effective global cooperation on science and research to achieve progress on the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. Stockholm+50 raised ambitions for accelerating the implementation of the UN Decade of Action based on science and multilateralism. Europe’s Global Approach to Cooperation in Research and Innovation underlines the importance of international cooperation on climate and environmental science to tackle the planetary crisis. The session started with keynote speeches "Science and Global Cooperation" and “The State of Europe’s Environment: Knowledge for Action”.

Key Messages:

• There is a clear need to improve coherence and collaboration among global institutions, supporting countries to develop an effective science-policy ecosystem, focusing on integrated solutions, leveraging the transformative power of data, technology and innovation, and promoting governance space that is considerate of gender, youth and other voices and agile enough to speed up transition towards sustainability.

• Important for science to inform the phase out fossil fuels, investments in infrastructure, the outcomes of the upcoming COP15, including the of use a science-based approach to enhance monitoring (e.g., Global Knowledge Support Service for Biodiversity), reporting and review of implementation of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework and the implementation of the United Nations Environment Assembly 5.2. resolutions related to pollution.

• There is a shared responsibility between the scientific community and policy makers in the way forward.
  • The scientific community should continue to do its utmost to produce the most advanced analysis possible, through global cooperation, data sharing, interdisciplinary approaches and foresight. It should continue to find ways to make their work more palatable to policy makers.
  • Policy makers should provide more adequate legal and financial framework, at global but also national level, to ensure that science can provide the best contribution to address the current crises.

Accelerated action on chemicals and pollution is needed to improve human well-being, planetary health, and prosperity for all. The implementation of the Global Implementation Plan “Towards a Pollution-Free Planet,” EU Zero Pollution Action Plan, Multilateral Environmental Agreements and other global, regional and country commitments offers an opportunity to address gaps and challenges in tackling pollution.

Key messages

• It is important to use science in tackling pollution in an integrated manner, as there are always strong interconnections with other issues. Among many examples, speakers referred to the EU current work on pollution reduction, and the necessity to address the entire value chain, including exports of illegal products and hazardous waste.

• There is a need to continue improving our understanding, especially when considering the serious knowledge gaps, we face related to new chemicals produced every year which research on environmental exposures and health can hardly catch up with.

• There is an urgency to challenge the way to measure success considering existing and potential risks of pollution for the environment and human health.

• Speakers stressed the need to reflect on:
  • the limits of growth
  • the importance of placing youth at the center of the multilateral system.
  • revisiting our communication strategies.

• It is essential to maintain the focus and efforts on long term objectives in view of the war in Europe, the energy crisis, supply chain disruptions and global food crisis.