CGIAR observer status at UNEA

9 July 2025. CGIAR observer status at UNEA

CGIAR, the world’s largest agricultural research partnership, has been officially accredited as an intergovernmental organization (IGO) to the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA). This milestone grants CGIAR observer status at UNEA, enabling participation in its sessions and subsidiary bodies, including the upcoming UNEA-7 in December. This milestone formally positions CGIAR within the highest level of global environmental governance and strengthening its role as a trusted scientific partner in support of UN Member States. It enables the organization to bring agricultural science into high-level environmental governance, helping bridge gaps between food systems and environmental goals.

This development comes at a crucial time. As the world seeks urgent solutions to the “triple planetary crisis” of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, CGIAR brings over 50 years of agricultural innovation and scientific evidence to these critical discussions. With this new role, CGIAR can ensure that food, land, and water systems are fully considered in global environmental policy.

Accreditation also improves CGIAR’s ability to inform high-level decisions by providing science-based recommendations directly to environment ministers and policymakers. It strengthens ongoing collaborations, such as the CGIAR Nature-Positive Initiative with UNEP, and positions CGIAR to contribute more directly to international campaigns and resolutions on sustainability.

CGIAR’s UNEA accreditation strengthens its ability to contribute to the objectives of the three “Rio Conventions”: the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).