IOI Event: Coastal Cities as Source and Solution – Shifting the Plastics Pollution Paradigm
Antonella Vassallo, Managing Director, represented the IOI at the Global Forum for Human Settlements. The event commemorated the Forum’s 20th Anniversary and World Cities Day. The centerpiece of GFHS’s celebration was the 20th Annual Session of Global Forum on Human Settlements and the prestigious New Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements Awards (SCAHSA) Ceremony, successfully held on November 4–5 at the headquarters of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in Geneva under the theme of “Advancing Local Innovation and Cooperation for a Resilient and Sustainable Urban Future”. The event also served as an observance of “World Cities Day 2025”.
The main outcome of the GFHS convocation was the Geneva Declaration, grounded in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the New Urban Agenda, the Pact for the Future, and the outcome documents from previous GFHS annual sessions. Addressing both current challenges and future opportunities, the Declaration issues a powerful call to the international community across five key areas: urban governance and innovation, enhancing environmental sustainability and resilience, building green, smart and carbon-neutral cities, fostering inclusive growth, and deepening international cooperation. It provides systematic and actionable recommendations for building a resilient and sustainable urban future while strengthening the voice of local governments and urban stakeholders at the upcoming COP30.
Side Event: Coastal Cities as Source and Solution – Shifting the Plastics Pollution Paradigm - 5th November
The International Ocean Institute, jointly with the Global Cities Hub (GCH), convened a dedicated side event entitled “Coastal Cities as Source and Solution: Shifting the Plastics Pollution Paradigm” during this forum.
This session brought together representatives of national governments, cities, UN agencies and regional authorities to explore how coastal cities, often at the frontline of plastic pollution, can become key drivers of solutions through integrated urban planning, ocean governance, innovation and behaviour change.
Moderated by Dr András Szorényi, Senior Policy Advisor at the Global Cities Hub, the discussion featured contributions from Antonella Vassallo, Régis Farret (Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations), Graham Alabaster (Head of UN-Habitat Geneva Office), Gabriel Boichat (Head of Delegation of Catalonia in Geneva), and Dato’ Ir Rajendran P Anthony, Mayor of Penang Island, Malaysia.
Throughout the discussion, speakers underscored that infrastructure and technology alone are insufficient without parallel efforts to change mindsets, governance cultures and incentives. Particular attention was given to the role of cities as laboratories for innovation, where inclusive governance, community engagement and capacity development can turn global policy frameworks into tangible outcomes.