GENEVA — For some, 2018 may represent the beginning of the undoing of the global rules-based system set up after the end of the World War II. A year after announcing its departure from the Paris Agreement on climate change, Washington continues to disengage with the United Nations — withdrawing from the Human Rights Council and cutting funds to programs such as UNRWA, the U.N. agency that supports Palestinian refugees.

Three years after sealing a landmark global climate deal in Paris, world leaders are gathering again in Poland to agree on the fine print. Switzerland’s climate ambassador tells swissinfo.ch what to expect from the talks.

GENEVA — To achieve the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations has been widening calls for support from the private sector — and some believe stock markets could play an important role.

Nearly 80 trading venues including the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the London Stock Exchange and Nasdaq have joined the United Nations’ Sustainable Stock Exchange (SSE) initiative, which tackles climate and social issues. The SIX Swiss Exchange, however, is one of the few major markets that remains on the sidelines.

The European Parliament voted last month to overhaul European Union digital copyright laws in a way that is expected to give researchers—but not necessarily the public—broader access to information.

A photo allegedly taken at Istanbul airport and used in a war of words over the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was actually taken at Geneva airport in 2016, swissinfo.ch has learned.

After years of administrative uncertainty, short-term employees at the United Nations in Geneva are now being told to pay Swiss taxes or face fines. Consultants say that may send some of them below the national poverty line, if that’s not already the case.

After the signing in 2015 of the Paris climate agreement, shipping, together with aviation, was largely left out of pledges set by the United Nations members. The argument was that its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions could not be attributed to any specific nation. “The view was that the sea is large and one could go on polluting. This view is very clearly coming to an end,” explains Giacomo Luciani, a professor specialising in commodities trading at the Graduate Institute in Geneva.

On Sept. 1, France outlawed five neonicotinoid pesticides to help protect its bee population.

Pope Francis is seeking Christian unity, raising fears among some clergy. But who should really be afraid?

After Warsaw Pact tanks rolled into Czechoslovakia on the night of August 20, 1968 to crush the Prague Spring movement, many Czechs and Slovaks found refuge in Switzerland.

With less than a year remaining ahead of the expected departure of the U.K. from the European Union, the European Commission unveiled one of the world’s biggest research programs, known as Horizon Europe, to run from 2021 to 2027.

The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross says partnerships with businesses may offer solutions for some of the challenges the organization faces. Peter Maurer told CNNMoney Switzerland that investors looking for social impact projects may be attracted to ICRC’s model, where funds are immediately used for critical humanitarian aid. He also admitted certain risks may be involved at times in partnering with the private sector.

The illegal trade in endangered species has become a major threat to wildlife, according to Barend Van Rensburg, chief of enforcement support at CITES, the UN agency responsible for regulating trade in protected species. Wildlife trafficking is now the fourth biggest illegal trade after drugs, arms and people trafficking. But as wildlife crime moves online, several tech firms have united to fight this illicit industry, estimated to value between $5-20 billion annually.

In Geneva to unveil a new disarmament agenda, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told CNNMoney Switzerland that Geneva continues to play an important role in conflict resolution and disarmament. "I see more and more Geneva being chosen for important negotiations in relation to the prevention and resolution of conflicts," he said. His statements come as the prospect of nuclear disarmament talks between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un was put on hold after the US head of state announced their cancellation. On Friday, however, the U.S. president said he was willing to talk to his North Korean counterpart, which had been scheduled to take place in Singapore in June.

Pope Francis’ visit to the headquarters of the World Council of Churches next month highlights efforts by churches to "walk, talk and work" together, according to the organization's secretary general, Olav Fyske Tveit. The head of the Geneva-based organization also tells Paula Dupraz-Dobias that the WCC has become a peacemaker involved in helping warring parties to sit down and talk. He recently returned from North Korea, where he met with local churches and authorities in what he calls the country’s “spring of peace."

Adrian Aebi, head of international affairs at the agriculture ministry, explains that Switzerland would lose its competitive edge if EFTA did not follow the European Union in concluding a free trade agreement with Mercosur. While the deal is being criticized by the Swiss Farmers' Union as potentially "sacrificing" Swiss agriculture in favor of other sectors, Aebi assures critics that markets would not be opened completely.

Swiss businesses involved in cleantech now employ 5.5 percent of the active population and generate some CHF 20 billion annually. Yet getting innovations to the market is often difficult. Various developers spoke to CNNMoney Switzerland at the Climate Show in Geneva about the challenges of transforming concepts into operations that are sustainable financially and environmentally.

Ten years ago, two researchers from ETH Zurich developed Climeworks, a firm specializing in extracting carbon from the air. Experts now say that technology is essential for keeping global warming under control, together with carbon reduction measures. Climework's CEO and co-founder Christoph Gebald expects a global carbon tax by 2030, which will help cover the high costs involved. "Classical VCs are not interested in what we are doing since it is a very long term venture," he told Paula Dupraz-Dobias. But the company has found backers among a number of wealthy, forward-looking individuals in Switzerland.