Conference events

The 13th annual World Ocean Summit comes at a turning point: the High Seas Biodiversity Treaty (BBNJ) has been ratified, the WTO Fisheries Subsidies Agreement is going to reshape seafood supply chains, and new science warns we have breached the planetary boundary on ocean acidification. At the same time, major philanthropic and financial investments are flowing into the ocean economy. The question is no longer why act, but how.

This summit will translate these global milestones into action for business, policy and finance. Sessions will ask:

• How can companies and investors turn new legal obligations into resilient growth strategies?
• What tools—digital twins, AI, blue bonds—are working, and which need to be redesigned?
• How can philanthropy, finance and corporate capital be combined to scale the ocean economy?
• What trade-offs must governments, industries and communities accept to protect and restore our ocean’s health?

Economist Impact brings the sharp debates, independent analysis and cross-sector convening power needed to challenge assumptions, bridge silos and shape the next decade of ocean governance and business strategy.

Profits can speed up progress to net zero. Despite some governments backtracking on green targets, many companies continue to charge forward. Meet the right people with bold ideas and clear steps at Sustainability Week 2026 in London on March 2nd-4th.

From AI to supply chains and waste management, learn what works in practice, and how to apply it to your organisation. Peer-to-peer interactive sessions like the CSO Leaders Club connect senior sustainability leaders with others who can help them move faster.

New in 2026, the Carbon Capture and Biodiversity summits equip attendees with the tools to accelerate the journey to profitability and sustainability.

The IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition showcases state-of-the art knowledge and practice. An extensive technical programme of presentations, workshops and posters forms the core of the week-long event. Selected by an expert global Programme Committee and running across multiple parallel sessions, this delivers access to latest advances from right across the sector.  

Built around this, the carefully curated wider programme will feature keynote speakers, plenary panel discussions, technology showcases, dialogues on emerging issues, and leadership forums, as well as integrated trade exhibition. This ensures the event delivers impact and value for all participants. The full programme for the 2026 edition is brought together under the theme of Water action – the path to resilience and prosperity. 

The 17th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) will be hosted by Mongolia in its capital city, Ulaanbaatar, from 17 to 28 August 2026.

This landmark global event will bring together delegates from 197 Parties, heads of state, ministers, representatives from international organizations, scientific communities, civil society, and the private sector to forge solutions to the interconnected challenges of desertification, land degradation and drought.

During the two-week conference, participants will engage in a high-level segment that includes ministerial dialogues, along with multi-stakeholder forums and thematic discussions on science–policy integration, innovation, solutions, technology, and financing. The event is expected to foster impactful collaboration and action across sectors, advancing the goals of sustainable land management, ecosystem and land restoration, and the implementation of Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) targets.

The gathering will bring together leaders from government, science, industry, civil society and Major Groups to drive forward innovative and inclusive bioeconomy solutions that put sustainable forest management at the core. The Summit provides a strategic platform to:

• assess the current state of sustainable forest-based bioeconomy approaches and related trade-offs;
• define priorities to integrate science into policy, strengthen cross-sector collaboration, and mobilise finance, research and innovation;
• identify concrete actions and partnerships—engaging women, youth, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and the private sector—leading to clear messages and recommendations for UNFF and FAO forums.

Thematic focus

• From policy to practice: scaling up sustainable approaches
• Financing the future: investment and climate-resilient bioeconomy R&D
• From forest to market: securing sustainable supply for growing demand
• Forest potentials beyond wood, including non-wood products and agrifood systems
• Building the future: innovative wood solutions, carbon neutrality and R&D
• Wood, health and sound
• Diversity and rights, including gender equality and Indigenous knowledge
• Cooperation to upscale bioeconomy; circularity in value chains; communication and public engagement
  (A consolidated background paper will be shared in advance.)

The conference will advance international cooperation on transitioning away from fossil fuel extraction — reinforcing the objectives of the Paris Agreement and aligning with the recent Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice, which confirmed that States have a legal obligation to protect the climate, including by addressing fossil fuel production, licensing and subsidies.

The First International Conference on the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels will serve as a strategic space for dialogue among a broad range of stakeholders — including government representatives, experts, rural and Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant communities, civil society, climate advocates, industry leaders, and academia — to explore viable, fair, and equitable pathways for transitioning to sustainable, diversified, and accessible energy. Designed to foster robust and structural transformations, the summit aims to facilitate a planned, just, and sustainable phase-out of fossil fuels and address the need for a structural shift in our socioeconomic model.

The idea of a global conference builds upon successful examples of previous diplomatic summits that have led to increased international cooperation to address major global threats including the Ottawa Conference to address land mines; the Oslo Conference on cluster munitions and the discussions on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, for which a series of three conferences, known as the Humanitarian Initiative, shifted the framing of nuclear weapons from one of security to a humanitarian discourse, leading to successful resolution within the UN General Assembly.

This landmark UN wildlife conservation meeting will bring together governments, scientists, conservationists, indigenous peoples and local communities, environmental leaders, and civil society from around the world to tackle the urgent conservation challenges faced by the thousands of species of wild animals that cross international borders.

During the week-long negotiations, CMS COP15 is expected to consider:

• High-Level Political Commitments & Declarations – Adoption of Ministerial Declarations to reaffirm global commitments to migratory species conservation.

• Strengthening Global and Coordinated Conservation for Migratory Species – Reviewing and approving proposals from CMS Parties to add species at risk to the CMS Appendices.

• Implementing Targeted Conservation Actions – Advancing new concerted actions to address the most pressing threats to migratory species.

• Combating Illegal Take and Addressing Overexploitation of Species and their Habitats – Strengthening measures to prevent poaching, illegal killing and trade, bycatch and habitat destruction.

• Enhancing Ecological Connectivity – Taking decisive steps to safeguard vital migratory corridors and habitats.

• Driving the Samarkand Strategic Plan (2024–2032) Forward – Evaluating progress and setting the course for the next decade of action.

• Scaling Up Species-Specific Conservation – Expanding key initiatives, including the CMS Jaguar Initiative, to protect iconic and at-risk species.

• Addressing Global Challenges Impacting Migratory Species – Tackling climate change, habitat loss, wildlife health threats, and the impacts of pollution and renewable energy infrastructure.

• Fostering Global Collaboration – Strengthening synergies with other multilateral environmental agreements such as CITES, CBD, Ramsar and integrating conservation with sustainable livelihoods.

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is an independent intergovernmental body established by States to strengthen the science-policy interface for biodiversity and ecosystem services for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, long-term human well-being and sustainable development. It was established in Panama City, on 21 April 2012 by 94 Governments.  It is not a United Nations body.  However, at the request of the IPBES Plenary and with the authorization of the UNEP Governing Council in 2013, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) provides secretariat services to IPBES.  See here for more information on the history of IPBES.

The twelfth session of the Plenary of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (#IPBES12) will be hosted by the Government of the United Kingdom  at the Manchester Central Convention Complex in Manchester, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, from 3 to 8 February 2026 (Click to view on Google Maps).

The session will open on Tuesday, 3 February 2026, at 9.30 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) (UTC+00:00) and close on Sunday, 8 February 2026, at 6 p.m. Daily sessions will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Additional meetings may take place in contact groups and in regional groupings.

Regional consultations and a Stakeholder Day are planned to be organized on Monday, 2 February 2026. A daily schedule will be made available on https://www.ipbes.net/events/ipbes-12/schedule  and the Event App closer to the event for specific time and room allocation information.

Armenia has been elected as the host of the 2026 United Nations Biodiversity Conference. “Taking action for nature”—the slogan of the conference— conveys Armenia’s aspirations for an action-oriented UN Biodiversity Conference. In Yerevan, the Parties to the CBD will undertake the first global review of collective progress in the implementation of the KMGBF. The global review is expected to guide accelerated implementation.

“Armenia’s vision for COP17 is a beautiful one. It aims to inspire us all to see that transformation is possible, that nature is worth protecting, that implementation is happening and that we all have an important and active role to play,” said Astrid Schomaker, the Executive Secretary of the CBD, at the unveiling event.

The 64th sessions of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) and Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) are scheduled to take place in June 2026.

The Government of Türkiye will host the thirty-first session of the Conference of the Parties, the twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol and the eighth session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement from Monday, 9 November, to Friday, 20 November 2026.