Ministers, high-level representatives of Member States and leaders from organizations convened to advance critical action areas to promote global progress on sustainability
The 2024 One Planet Network Forum, hosted in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 12 and 13 September 2024, has concluded with a series of significant announcements, commitments and an agreed document of ‘Key Action Areas’ outlining action areas for addressing inequalities and achieving just transitions through sustainable consumption and production and circular economy approaches.
After two days of plenary discussions, thematic sessions and a dedicated Ministerial Dialogue, which brought together over 500 in-person delegates from over 40 Member States, UN agencies, as well as leaders from private sector and stakeholder organizations, the 10YFP Board endorsed an outcome document of ‘Key Action Areas’ that will be presented to the G-20 process, the Summit of the Future and the 7th Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly.
In another significant announcement, the Forum celebrated important milestones in the field of sustainable tourism, as four new signatories—Ecoe, Katalisar, Ocean Eyes Production, and Turismo360—joined the One Planet Sustainable Tourism Programme's Global Tourism Plastics Initiative (GTPI), bringing the total to 236 organizations. The Programme’s Glasgow Declaration for Climate Action in Tourism also welcomed 7 new signatories, bringing its total to 841, namely Visit Rio Convention Bureau, Instituto de Desenvolvimento e Gestão, Roteiros de Charme Hotel Association, Amazon Ecopark Jungle Lodge, Grupo Cataratas, Turismo360, and Ecoe.
A major step forward in sustainable public procurement was also announced during the The One Planet Network Forum 2024, with UNOPS, a leading UN entity with an annual Information and Communication Technology (ICT) procurement volume of USD 145 million[1], joining the Circular and Fair ICT Pact as a procuring participant under the One Planet Network Sustainable Public Procurement Programme. This move is expected to drive substantial progress in circularity and fairness in ICT procurement by the United Nations – thus further walking the talk.
And finally, during a dedicated awards ceremony during the Forum, 10 youth-led projects from Youth4Climate, a global initiative co-led by the Government of Italy and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), received funding of up to USD 30,000 each. These initiatives aim to advance the shift towards sustainable consumption practices and to support and scale youth-led climate breakthroughs.
