The twelfth meeting of the Capacity Building Coordination Framework under the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) was held online on 11 May 2021.

The Aarhus Convention Capacity Building Coordination Framework brings together key international organizations involved in capacity building related to the Convention.

The meeting provided an opportunity to: (i) learn about capacity-building needs of countries with economies in transition in relation to the implementation of the Convention, (ii) took stock of recent developments with regard to existing and future capacity-building activities under the Convention and, to some extent, to its Protocol on PRTRs and Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration, and (iii) discussed input to the report on capacity building and other preparations for the Convention’s seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties (Geneva, 18-21 October 2021). The outcomes of the meeting are expected to contribute to activities within the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework and to the implementation of the relevant Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Goal 16 that undergoes in-depth review this year.