COP15 ends with adoption of gobal biodiversity framework to protect nature

By 2030: “Protect 30% of Earth’s lands, oceans, coastal areas, inland waters; Reduce by $500 billion annual harmful government subsidies; Cut food waste in half“

Montreal: The United Nations Biodiversity Conference COP15 ended with a “landmark” agreement to protect 30 percent of the world’s lands, waters, coastal areas, and oceans by 2030.

Representatives from 188 governments have been gathered in Montreal for the past two weeks for the important summit to guide global action on nature through 2030.

Chaired by China and hosted by Canada, COP 15 resulted in the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) on the last day of negotiations.

The plan includes concrete measures to halt and reverse nature loss, including putting 30 percent of the planet and 30 percent of degraded ecosystems under protection by 2030. Currently, 17 percent of land and 8 percent of marine areas are under protection.

It also contains proposals to increase finance to developing countries, a major sticking point during talks.

The agreement envisages putting $200 billion toward supporting biodiversity by 2030, with another $500 billion to be possibly raised by phasing out or reforming subsidies, such as those for food or fuel.

The deal also calls for giving low-income countries far more than is currently provided for their efforts to protect nature. This amount is to reach at least $20 billion annually by 2025, increasing to $30 billion by 2030.

What is the Global Biodiversity Framework talked about?

The GBF consists of four overarching global goals to protect nature, including halting human-induced extinction of threatened species and reducing the rate of extinction of all species tenfold by 2050; sustainable use and management of biodiversity to ensure that nature’s contributions to people are valued, maintained and enhanced; fair sharing of the benefits from the utilization of genetic resources, and digital sequence information on genetic resources; and that adequate means of implementing the GBF be accessible to all Parties, particularly Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework” (GBF), includes four goals and 23 targets for achievement by 2030. The other important targets include:-

1, Restoration of 30 percent of terrestrial and marine ecosystems.

2, Reduce to near zero the loss of areas of high biodiversity importance and high ecological integrity.

3, Halving global food waste.

4, Phasing out or reforming subsidies that harm biodiversity by at least $500 billion per year while scaling up positive incentives for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use.

5, Mobilizing at least $200 billion per year from public and private sources for biodiversity-related funding

6, Raising international financial flows from developed to developing countries to at least US$ 30 billion per year.

7, Requiring transnational companies and financial institutions to monitor, assess, and transparently disclose risks and impacts on biodiversity through their operations, portfolios, supply, and value chains.

8, The need for a “whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach” to implementing the GBF.

The main objective of COP15 was also to adopt an ambitious and balanced global biodiversity framework to replace the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, which expired in 2020 and were considered a failure by many experts.