State of global environmental governance 2022

Against a backdrop of ongoing conflict, natural disasters, and economic tumult which helped the term “permacrisis” gain wide traction international diplomats made significant and sometimes surprising steps forward in coordinating global environmental governance. After coordinated pressure from diverse G77 countries, climate negotiators agreed to establish a dedicated loss and damage fund. Countries adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework despite thorny issues and late-night negotiating drama. Talks kicked off to shape an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution. However, how much traction these achievements will make remains to be seen, even as many multilateral environmental agreements shift into full “implementation mode”. With the pent-up need for countries to agree how to address climate finance, plastic pollution, biodiversity loss, and other pressing environmental issues, a tidal wave of in-person negotiations swept through 2022.