Established in 2010

List of 2026 Thematic News

Climate Change

UN Ocean Conference 2025: A Unified Call for Ocean Action and Climate Integration

The Third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3), held in Nice, France, from 9 to 13 June 2025, marked a decisive moment in the evolution of global ocean governance and its integration with international climate action. Co-hosted by France and Costa Rica, the Conference was convened pursuant to United Nations General Assembly resolution 77/262, under the overarching theme “Accelerating Action and Mobilizing All Actors to Conserve and Sustainably Use the Ocean.” It brought together heads of state and government, ministers, representatives of UN agencies, international financial institutions, scientists, civil society organizations, Indigenous representatives, and private-sector actors from across the globe.

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| Jan 5, 2026 | 5 min read

Environmental Governance Regimes

COP24 Barcelona Convention: The Cairo Declaration and the Future of Mediterranean Environmental Governance

The 24th Meeting of the Contracting Parties (COP24) to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean (Barcelona Convention) was held in Cairo, Egypt, from 2 to 5 December 2025, marking a landmark moment for Mediterranean environmental governance. COP24 coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP) and 30 years of the post-Rio Barcelona Convention framework, underscoring the enduring relevance of regional cooperation in addressing shared environmental challenges.

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| Jan 5, 2026 | 6 min read

International Environmental Negotiation Process

Negotiating the Global Plastics Treaty: Law-Making under Pressure

The year 2025 marks a critical phase in the negotiation of a legally binding international instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, one of the most ambitious multilateral environmental law-making processes currently underway. Mandated by United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) resolution 5/14 adopted in March 2022, the negotiations are taking place under intense political, scientific, and societal pressure, with states committed to concluding the treaty by the end of 2025 amid escalating evidence of the environmental, health, and economic impacts of plastic pollution.

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| Jan 5, 2026 | 6 min read

Public Participation in Environmental Governance

MOP-8 of the Aarhus Convention: Promoting Participatory Environmental Governance as a Pillar of Environmental and Climate Action

The Eighth Meeting of the Parties (MOP-8) to the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) along with MOPP5 for the PRTR Protocol, held in Palais des Nations,Geneva, Switzerland, from 17–21 November 2025 under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), marked a significant milestone in the evolution of public participation in environmental and climate governance.

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| Jan 5, 2026 | 8 min read

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About MEPIELAN eBulletin

MEPIELAN E-Bulletin is a digital academic and practitioner newsletter of the MEPIELAN Centre, launched in 2010.  It features insight articles, reflective opinions, specially selected documents and cases, book reviews as well as news on thematic topics of direct interest of MEPIELAN Centre and on the activities and role of MEPIELAN Centre. Its content bridges theory and practice perspectives of relational international law, international environmental law and participatory governance , and international negotiating process, thus serving the primary goal of Centre: to develop an integrated, inter-disciplinary, relational, context-related and sustainably effective governance approach creating, protecting and advancing international common interest for the present and future generations. Providing a knowledge- and information-sharing platform and a scholarly forum, the Bulletin promotes innovative ideas and enlightened critical views, contributing to a broader scholarly debate on important issues of international common interest. The audience of the Bulletin includes academics, practitioners, researchers, university students, international lawyers, officials and personnel of international organizations and institutional arrangements, heads and personnel of national authorities at all levels (national, regional and local), and members of the civil society at large.