Published: Just now
Halfway into the UN Conference on Biological Diversity, only a few of the 22 points have achieved success. Now there is only a week left for the countries of the world to agree on what is called a Paris agreement for nature.
The most important goals during the ongoing UN meeting COP15 in Montreal are to protect 30 percent of the earth’s surface by 2030 and to find a plan for financing that will support biodiversity in developing countries.
But so far it’s been slow. It is not until Thursday that 196 environment ministers, including Romina Pourmokhtari (L), are due to join, but it was hoped that the negotiations would have reached a good point before then.
– We have a long way to go. But we see small glimmers of light at the end of the tunnel, says Marco Lambertini, head of WWF International to AFP.
Over the weekend, Brazil announced, on behalf of Africa and 14 other countries, a call for financial support of at least $100 billion a year or 1 percent of world GDP until 2030.
That demand is considered unrealistic by the rich countries, which in 2020 earmarked around 10 billion dollars.
– If we suddenly talk about 100 billion, the talks will be paralyzed, says France’s envoy Sylvie Lemmet to AFP.
The EU has also opposed the establishment of a new global biodiversity fund, which many other countries want to see done by COP16 in 2024.
The United States, which is not participating in the negotiations and has not signed the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, will play a decisive role when it comes to financing.
During Tuesday, the negotiations between the delegates will continue behind closed doors.