The nearly USD 700 million Work Program approved focuses heavily on chemicals and waste at a time when the GEF hopes to prove to the multilateral community it has the capacity to serve as the financial mechanism for a global plastics treaty and that it could play a significant role in realizing the vision of the Global Framework on Chemicals.

Preparing for the entry into force of the BBNJ Agreement, delegates addressed the nuts and bolts that will guide its orderly implementation, including rules of procedure, arrangements for the Secretariat, funding, arrangements with the Global Environment Facility and operationalization of the Clearing-House Mechanism.

Participants reflected on how to achieve urgent tasks—such as obtaining sufficient ratifications to enable the entry into force of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies under the WTO and of the Agreement on Marine Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction—and how to ensure these global instruments deliver on their ambitious objectives.

Standing at a crossroads, the Authority needs to balance or resolve competing interests and approaches toward commercial deep-sea mining, especially in light of the announcement that a company has initiated a process to apply for exploration licenses and commercial recovery permits under US legislation, potentially undermining international law.