Geneva bids to host new global anti-pollution body

The Swiss city of Geneva wants to host the secretariat of the new Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution (ISP-CWP). +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox At the start of the first meeting of the ISP-CWP in Geneva on Monday, Switzerland announced its offer. Faced with an "ambitious mandate", "the panel needs a secretariat that is both well-funded and well-connected", said Katrin Schneeberger, Director of the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN). "Geneva offers precisely these conditions", she insisted as she opened the first plenary session. + What lies ahead for International Geneva in 2026? She added that the city already hosted the secretariats of several international conventions on the environment, including the Basel-Rotterdam-Stockholm and Minamata conventions on mercury. And "many other key institutions", added Schneeberger. Not to mention the 185 country missions to the UN and international organisations.