The final quarter of 2026 comes amid growing concern over climate change. A recent report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) warns that global temperatures are likely to exceed 1.5°C, increasing climate risks and impacts to dangerous levels. The report stresses that the world must not only work to bring temperatures back below 1.5°C as quickly as possible but also strengthen the resilience of societies, communities, and economies to the impacts of climate change.
Nature and biodiversity are also at a crossroads: The Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) is reaching its halfway point. Countries will assess progress towards its goals to protect 30% of the Earth’s land water and oceans and restore 30% of those that are already degraded by 2030, as well as other goals and targets.
In the meantime, many nations are preparing for a historically strong El Nino that could lead to devastating consequences for vulnerable communities and to further ecosystem degradation.
To keep the world on track to meet environmental goals and shape a more sustainable future, key events and reports between October and December will aim to address the growing impact of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste.
This quarter, UNEP will also launch major reports, including the Emissions Gap Report and the Adaptation Gap Report. The newly launched Restoration Progress Report will be the first-ever global stocktake of countries’ advances in restoring 1 billion hectares of land and water ecosystems by 2030.
Below is a list of reports, events, meetings, and international days coming up from UNEP, partners, and stakeholders, including planned release dates (where available).
Members of the media are invited to register for advance embargoed access to reports.
4-9 October | Meeting
International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant | Hyderabad, India
UNEP will participate in the International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant, where it serves on the Scientific Steering Committee. UNEP will co-chair special sessions on cosmetics, artisanal and small-scale gold mining, and biodiversity, and will organize a public event on mercury in cosmetics.
5-14 October | Event
South Asia Cooling Roadshow
The UNEP-led Cool Coalition, the World Bank Group, and IFC will take the South Asia Cooling Roadshow to Delhi, Mumbai and Dhaka, connecting policymakers, industry leaders, investors, and innovators across the region. Each stop will explore energy-efficient, climate-resilient cooling for buildings, agribusiness cold chains, healthcare, hospitality, and textiles.
6-8 October | Workshop
UNEP Workshop on the Environmental Dimensions of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Africa | Nairobi, Kenya
UNEP will bring together environmental authorities, AMR focal points, technical experts, and partners from around 20 African countries to strengthen understanding of the environmental dimensions of AMR and support their integration into national action plans. The workshop aims to advance regional cooperation, identify priority actions for Africa, and inform future UNEP technical support on addressing the environmental dimensions of AMR.
6-9 October | Meeting
Twelfth Conference of the Parties to the Nairobi Convention (COP12) | Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
COP12 of the Nairobi Convention aims to review progress in implementing previous COP decisions, adopt strategic priorities for future action, strengthen regional partnerships and contribute to international efforts addressing climate change, biodiversity loss and marine pollution. The conference will address ocean governance, biodiversity conservation, climate resilience, marine pollution and sustainable blue economy development across the Western Indian Ocean region. COP12 also marks the 40th anniversary of the Nairobi Convention.
Media registration is open until 9 October. Interested journalists are encouraged to register here to cover COP12: https://indico.un.org/event/1025051/
12 October | Publication
Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 2026 Annual Report
UNEP will release the 2026 OGMP 2.0 annual report, which tracks how participating oil and gas companies are measuring, reporting, and reducing methane emissions.
19–23 October 2026 | Meeting
26th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals | San Juan, Puerto Rico
The Cartagena Convention Secretariat will host an exhibition booth showcasing the Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife Protocol’s work on marine mammal conservation, present progress on implementing the regional Marine Mammal Action Plan and participate in the Conservation of Marine and Coastal Biodiversity in the Caribbean (CAMAC) II workshop. The event will provide an opportunity to share CAMAC II results and identify technical partnerships for marine mammal conservation in the Wider Caribbean.
19-30 October | Meeting
UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP17) | Yerevan, Armenia
The 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17) will mark the first global review of collective progress towards the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF). The meeting will be held in conjunction with the twelfth meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the sixth meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing). The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration is also reaching its halfway point and will release the first-ever report on restoration progress, across all ecosystems and regions.
21 October | Publication
Emissions Gap Report 2026
The UNEP Emissions Gap Report is an annual assessment tracking the gap between global greenhouse gas emissions and what is needed to meet the Paris Agreement goals.
28 October | Publication
Climate Technology Progress Report 2026
The Climate Technology Progress Report 2026 reviews advances in climate technologies for ocean-based climate action, assessing their potential, readiness and the governance needed to support responsible deployment.
28 October | Meeting
SEA of Solutions 2026 | Bangkok, Thailand
UNEP and the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia will convene the seventh SEA of Solutions Forum, as part of the first Asia Pacific Ocean Week. Under the theme “Partnerships and Solutions for Action on Plastic Pollution,” the Forum will bring together governments and other stakeholders to share practical approaches, strengthen partnerships, and accelerate action on plastic pollution and marine litter across Asia and the Pacific.
29 October | Spotlight Publication
Restoration Progress Report – Nature’s Comeback
The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030) was established to support and scale efforts to prevent, halt and reverse ecosystem degradation through effective restoration. The Ecosystem Restoration Decade is now reaching its halfway point. This is a first-of-its kind report taking stock of restoration progress, identifying leading ecosystem types, countries, and examples, as well as outlining benefits from restoration – such as numbers of species returning or ecosystem functions and livelihoods improving. A launch event at Restoration Day at CBD COP17 will offer the opportunity to journalists and others and others to dig deeper into report findings. Register here: https://www.decadeonrestoration.org/events/restoration-day-cbd-cop-17
29 October | Award
UN World Restoration Flagships
Through the World Restoration Flagships, the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (co-led by UNEP and FAO) recognizes the best examples of large-scale and long-term ecosystem restoration in countries and regions. Together, UN World Restoration Flagships are bringing more than 70 million hectares under restoration (an area the size of Nigeria), creating more than 1 million jobs and recovering species populations of over 30 million individuals – including Saiga antelope, mountain gorillas, snow leopards, dugong and jaguar. On Restoration Day at CBD COP17, the UN will award five new countries and initiatives reviving degraded ecosystems.
October/November | Publication
Overshoot and the Cryosphere: Saving a World in Meltdown
This follow up report to Limiting Overshoot, coordinated by the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative (ICCI), looks at the implications of overshoot for major cryosphere systems, including ice sheets, glaciers, sea ice, snowpack, permafrost, and polar oceans.
November I Publication
Wildland Fires in the Circumboreal forest under Climate Overshoot
This follow up report to Limiting Overshoot, coordinated by Natural Resources Canada, looks at the implications of climate overshoot for wildfire risk across the circumboreal forest, including changing fire regimes, ecological, socioeconomic, and social impacts, and mitigation and adaptation responses.
4 November | Spotlight Publication
Adaptation Gap Report 2026
UNEP’s Adaptation Gap Report series provides a science-based assessment of the global progress on adaptation planning, financing, and implementation. It also explores options for enhancing and advancing national and global adaptation efforts and provides analysis of selected issues of interest.
5 November | Publication
Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance annual Progress Report
The NZAOA Progress Report is an annual publication by the UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance that tracks institutional investors’ collective efforts and accountability in transitioning their portfolios to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
9–20 November | Meeting
UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) | Antalya, Türkiye
At COP31, UNEP will launch key reports, host and participate in high-level events, and engage in negotiations to advance ambition, implementation, and transparency under the Paris Agreement. UNEP, with partners, will also host a pavilion showcasing how sustainable buildings and cooling can strengthen resilience in cities and beyond.
1–6 November 2026
79th Annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute Conference | Curaçao
With support from the Global Environment Facility-funded Gulf of Mexico Large Marine Ecosystem Project, the Cartagena Convention Secretariat will coordinate and facilitate a conference session on marine protected areas, highlighting the Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife and its network of protected areas as platforms for regional cooperation. The session will promote exchange among practitioners and partners on effective marine protected area management. The Secretariat will also contribute to discussions on reducing the impacts of fisheries on marine mammals, sea turtles and other protected species covered under the Protocol.
11 November | Media briefing
6th Global Media Forum on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)
UNEP will join journalists and AMR experts for the 6th Global Media Forum on AMR ahead of World AMR Awareness Week and the 5th High-level Ministerial Conference on AMR in Abuja, Nigeria, contributing environmental perspectives to an expert discussion and interactive media dialogue on AMR through a One Health approach.
12-13 November | Meeting
Global Forum on Fashion and Construction Value Chains | Geneva, Switzerland
Organized by UNEP ahead of the first UN International Conference of the Global Framework on Chemicals, the forum will explore sustainability, circularity and pollution reduction opportunities across fashion and construction value chains. Communications activities will include social media and multimedia content.
November | Working paper
The Strategic Importance of Atmospheric and Biogenic Carbon in the Global Materials Economy
This working paper outlines the potential role of the global materials economy in storing carbon through carbon dioxide removal. It outlines the opportunity to use atmospheric and biogenic carbon as feedstock for products that currently rely on fossil carbon, proposing a “reframing” of the carbon value chain and outlining challenges and way forward in the current governance and technology landscape.
16-20 November I Meeting
International Conference of the UN Global Framework on Chemicals | Geneva, Switzerland
The first International Conference of the Global Framework on Chemicals will bring together countries, and representatives of industries, financial institutions, international organizations, science and civil society, to accelerate action for a planet free of harm from chemicals and waste. The Global Framework on Chemicals is a voluntary, multi-stakeholder global framework adopted in Bonn, Germany, in September 2023. The Framework provides a roadmap for countries and stakeholders to address chemicals and waste across their entire life cycle, strengthening global action on pollution.
18-24 November | Campaign
World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week
Under the 2026 theme, “One Health, one action: Prevent AMR now”, UNEP will join the Quadripartite campaign and highlight why environmental action is essential to preventing antimicrobial resistance.
24 November I Meeting
Meeting of the Bureau of the Forum of Ministers of Environment of Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) (virtual)
Ministers from eight (8) LAC countries, under the Presidency of Panama, will consider progress in the implementation of actions to respond to the priorities of work defined by the Forum and its Bureau. They will provide guidance on next steps in the implementation of the Forum´s workplan.
24-26 November 2026 | Meeting
The twenty-eighth Intergovernmental Meeting (IG28) of the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (EANET) | Niigata, Japan
The IG28 will mark 25 years of regional cooperation on acid deposition and air quality across East Asia. A key milestone of the meeting will be the launch of EANET’s flagship publication, the Fifth Periodic Report on the State of Atmospheric Environment in East Asia (PRSAE5). Published every five years, the report provides a comprehensive assessment of the region’s atmospheric environment, drawing on two decades of scientific data and monitoring results from EANET’s Participating Countries.
24-27 November I Meeting
Forum International Afrique et Beauté | Rabat, Morocco
The UNEP Global Mercury Partnership will organize a public conference at the forum, on 26 November from 17:00–18:00 at the Faculté des Sciences, exploring what it would to build cosmetic value chains that support both human well-being and the health of the planet. From skin-lightening products containing mercury and other substances of concern to issues surrounding sustainable sourcing, packaging, and waste management, the discussion will explore how can governments, industry, civil society, and consumers collaborate to promote safer products, informed choices, and greater environmental and social justice.
2 December | Award
Champions of the Earth 2026
The 2026 award will focus on individuals, organizations and governments driving efforts to protect and restore ocean health—an area critical to climate stability, biodiversity, food security, and sustainable economic development. Every year, UNEP honours individuals and organizations working on innovative and sustainable solutions to address the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste. Established in 2005, the Champions of the Earth award is the UN’s highest environmental honour.
6-8 December | Meeting
5th High-level Ministerial Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) | Abuja, Nigeria
Under the theme “One Health: Advancing Global AMR Commitments through Local Action,” the conference will bring together governments and partners to review progress and accelerate implementation of global AMR commitments. A key expected outcome is the Abuja Compact on AMR, aimed at translating global AMR commitments into coordinated, accountable, and actionable implementation across sectors and at country level.
Some environment-related international observances coming up this quarter:
- 11 October World Migratory Bird Day
- 13 October International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction
- 18–24 October International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week
- 3 November One Health Day
- 5 November World Tsunami Awareness Day
- 6 November International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict
- 18–24 November World AMR Awareness Week
- 26 November World Sustainable Transport Day
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For more information please contact:
News and Media Unit, UN Environment Programme
Advance access:
Interested media and other parties are invited to register for advance embargoed access to the news releases and reports, distributed prior to publication.
NOTE: This is not a final list – other reports and events may be added. Regular updates will be shared on the UNEP website.