New Delhi: Once again the stage is set for the world leaders to meet at UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) next week in Montreal, Canada, to save the nature with new set of goals and targets that will guide global action through 2030.
Every 10 years the government agree to new set of goals on protecting biodiversity, but so far, they have failed to meet any UN targets on halting the loss of nature.
Given the crucial role healthy ecosystems play in every aspect of humanity, it is vital that agreement is reached in Montreal and the decline in our natural world is halted.
According to Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) around one million species are facing extinction due to climate change.
Late month a report by WWF and Zoological Society of London’s living Planet Report revealed that Earth’s wildlife population have plunged by an average of 69 per cent in June under 50 years. That why the COP15 has never been more vital to reach agreement.
The last round of talks was held in Nagoya Japan 2010, (COP10) and the countries pledged to halve the loss of nature habitats and expand nature reserve to 17 percent of the world’s land area by 2020, among other goal. But they have failed on every count.
According to a 2020 CBD report none of these targets have been fully met. 196 countries have ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity, and 196 countries will need to adopt the framework at the meeting in Montreal.
But now the aim of COP15 is to achieve an historic agreement to halt and reverse nature loss, on par with the 2015, Paris Climate Agreement. What is adopted in Montreal will essentially be a global blueprint to save the planet’s dwindling biodiversity.
What are the key issues?
The stakes in Montreal are high, with 21 draft targets to be negotiated. These include proposals to reduce pesticide use by two-thirds, halve the rate of invasive species introduction and eliminate billions of dollars of environmental government subsidies.
The goals also include reducing the current rate of extinctions by 90 per cent, enhancing the integrity of all ecosystems, valuing nature’s contribution to humanity and providing the financial resources to achieve this vision.
Fragmentation and land-use changes driven by agriculture and urban sprawl are driving 80 per cent of biodiversity loss in many areas, which is why it is vital this is addressed.
Agreements will need to be reached on finance, including how much wealthy nations will support developing countries to finance biodiversity conservation, as well as on access and benefit sharing, specifically when it comes to the use of data derived from genetic resources.
The summit’s final text the post 2020 global biodiversity framework will include more than 20 targets that focus on everything from invasive species to synthetic biology.
Humanity’s existence relies on having clean air, food and a habitable climate, all of which are regulated by the natural world. A healthy planet is also a precursor to resilient economies. More than half of the GDP equal to 41.7 trillion is reliant on healthy ecosystem.
Why does COP15 important?
As the humanity is facing the triple planetary crisis of climate change, Pollution and biodiversity loss, the role and decisions of this conference assumed very significance and to meet the Paris Agreement. Acting to address biodiversity loss has never been more urgent.
The planet is experiencing a dangerous decline in nature as a result of human activity. It is experiencing its largest loss of life since the dinosaurs. One million plant and animal species are now threatened with extinction.
We are seeing huge decline in wildlife across the board. According to scientists’ insects’ number are plummeting with some saying we are living through an “insect apocalypse”
According to estimate more than 500 species of land animals are on the brink of extinction, one in eight bird species are threatened and 40 percent of the world ‘s plant species are at risk.
Difference between COP15 and COP27
COP27 addressed action under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to these changes. COP15 focuses on the living world through the Convention on Biological Diversity and related issues.
COP27 was the first climate COP that acknowledged “nature-based solutions” in a cover decision, highlighting the fact the two issues are interconnected. Indeed, without protecting and restoring our natural world, none of the triple planetary crises can be solved, which is why COP15 is so important.
In 1992 Earth Summit in Brazil the three Rio Conventions were set up: one on Biodiversity, one on Desertification and one on Climate Change. Each of these conventions has a COP – or Conference of the Parties, which sees signatory governments come together regularly to speed up action in implementing these agreements.
The two week summit starts on December 7, although China will hold the Cop15 presidency, the first time it has done so for a leading UN environmental agreement. The conference had been scheduled to take place in Kunming, China, but was moved after successive pandemic related delay and concerns over hosting an international summit under Beijing’s zero-Covid policy. The official text is expected to be signed off on Saturday 17 December.
