Science-based approach to global agreements

The ICJ’s climate opinion confirms States must align their 2025 NDCs with 1.5°C, reflect their highest possible ambition, and be grounded in science and equity. Arbitrary or weak targets may breach international law. This is not soft law or a ceiling for ambition - it is a minimum legal requirement for all Parties under the Paris Agreement. Amid sweeping commentary on the ICJ climate opinion, this piece clarifies its legal meaning for 2025 NDCs: binding, science-based, equity-informed, and grounded in the below 1.5°C limit. Discretion is narrow. States must deliver deep, ambitious emissions cuts, or risk breaching international law.

A year after the formal adoption of the High Seas Treaty (BBNJ Agreement), States are meeting in New York next week withe the important task to get organised to implement the treaty once it's in force. WWF is happy to provide a few recommendations as to what the focus needs to be for the Preparatory Commission, governments and other stakeholders in the period ahead of entry into force of this treaty which applies to half of our planet. There is an enormous amount of work to be done in preparing for COP1. The Programme of Work is key and needs to involve all governments. It is of utmost importance that the PrepCom agrees to and prepares the materials that facilitate COP1 and the decisions that need to be made there by Parties. Ensuring the science is available for establishing marine protected areas is also key to prepare the ground for MPA establishment, including by encouraging and supporting the scientific community in marshalling the science to develop biogeographic classifications at the scale of regional oceanic basins. These classifications then need to be proposed to COP1 for adoption as the basis for designating domains within which networks of ecologically connected, comprehensive, adequate, and representative MPAs can be developed. Once this has been done, the serious business of developing candidate areas for MPA establishment can be progressed towards actual establishment. An important decision for the first COP will be on the Clearing House Mechanism. Here, PrepCom needs to prepare background papers and briefs, including how the BBNJ COP and the CBD COP and their respective secretariats can best collaborate in working jointly to marshal the science relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity. This enhanced cooperation between the Secretariats of the BBNJ Agreement and the CBD is crucial for ensuring effectiveness and efficiency across the two treaties given their complementary roles. Collaboration with the UNESCO International Oceanographic Commission (IOC) and its regional node approach is also important to explore, as this vision best exemplifies the regional implementation and proactive collaboration approach needed to ensure all relevant stakeholders can participate in the preparation of MPA proposals to be submitted to COP, the conduct of environmental impact assessments (EIA) and strategic environmental assessments (SEA), and the implementation of a  marine genetic resources benefit sharing regime. The treaty needs to be ratified by at least 60 states to enter into force, but it is important that it reaches near universal participation as soon as possible, ensuring a strong foundation for enhanced collaboration. States with the means to do so need to provide capacity for those States who need it to ensure as wide as possible participation. And as the ocean and its creatures are subject to multiple pressures, this all needs to be done quickly and effectively. No pressure!

I encourage everyone to read this paper published in Nature, particularly those who work in emerging markets and developing economies. As this week's record temperatures, devastating wildfires, and heat-related deaths across the globe emphasizes shows ... every 10th of a degree counts. This paper argues that the current approach to set "scientific targets" is flawed and is, well, downright un-scientific. It is a cookie-cutter approach that glances over important topics such as equity and fairness. The Science Based Targets initiative work on identifying global decarbonization benchmarks provide helpful guidance, but should not be taken for truths. ➡ According to the report "Simplistic use of global averages taken from IPCC reports, used out of context and generically applied to a broad diversity of individual actors, leads to inefficiency and inequity, higher emissions and more warming than intended." ➡ Therefore, "methodologies for corporate science-based targets would need to shift from universal narrow rule-sets to a wider but transparent menu of options, along with mandatory disclosure and justification of the strategy adopted by each company, based on its own circumstances." 👉 It is important to "develop methodologies that include equity principles that can be applied at company level", particularly for companies that operate in emerging markets and developing economies, and the banks that finance them. It is time to put science back into science based target setting.

As negotiations continue for INC-5.2, one thing is clear: the world needs a global agreement to end plastic pollution. But not just any agreement—a workable, science-driven framework that delivers results on the ground. That means: Targeting the highest-leakage plastics Supporting national efforts with the tools that fit their systems Accelerating investment in reuse, recycling, and recovery infrastructure What works in one country may not work in another. A successful agreement must reflect those differences while keeping our shared goal in focus: keeping plastics in the economy and out of the environment. The global plastics industry is ready to do its part. We’re already investing billions of dollars in circular solutions, advancing design innovation, and supporting smart policy. Let’s build an agreement that turns that momentum into measurable impact.