Three years ago, the participant countries in the UN Convention on Biodiversity adopted a new global framework.
The goal was to reverse the negative trend for biodiversity and stop the extermination of animals and plants by 2030. But exactly how it would go was not agreed.
After the negotiations stranded during COP16 in Colombia last fall, an extra-appointed meeting was held this week at the UN Food and Agricultural Organization’s headquarters in Rome to get the details clear.
Just before midnight on Friday, the participant countries announced that they had agreed on a way forward for the work.
– I am really happy that we jointly came up with a good decision. We have worked intensively day and night for three days, which shows that global cooperation is still working, says Sweden’s negotiating manager Charlotta Sörqvist.
– We have different starting points, but we found compromises in the end.
So the work is to be financed
To succeed in the goals, the countries agree to collect a total of $ 200 billion, each year.
– What was most difficult to agree on was the decision on resource mobilization, but in the end we managed to agree. The decision means that we have agreed on how we should jointly work together on how resources from all sources can increase through various initiatives, says Charlotta Sörqvist.
It was also decided that all countries’ work and how they deliver on the framework’s goals will be followed up in the future through a global follow -up report.
One million species at risk
According to the World Nature Fund, WWF, one million species of extinction is currently being threatened. Animals and plants are stated to die to a greater extent than ever before.
– During this meeting, the countries have shown that they want to find a common way forward on difficult issues. The challenge is now to get enough resources, says Ankin Ljungman, Delegat for WWF International during the COP16 meeting, in a press release.
Saving biodiversity is a major challenge, says Charlotta Sörqvist. But during the negotiations in Rome, she experienced a great commitment.
– Thanks to the decisions tonight, we can now go ahead and jointly continue the work to achieve the global goals of the framework. At the next party meeting in Armenia 2026, we will be able to discuss how we have jointly succeeded, ”she says.