Nations early yesterday approved a historic deal to reverse decades of environmental destruction threatening the world’s species and ecosystems at a marathon UN biodiversity summit in Montreal.
The chair of the COP15 nature summit, Chinese Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu (黃潤秋), declared the deal adopted at a late-night plenary session and struck his gavel, sparking loud applause from assembled delegates.
In doing so he overruled an objection from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which had refused to back the text, demanding greater funding for developing nations as part of the accord.
Photo: AFP
After four years of fraught negotiations, more than 190 other states rallied behind the Chinese-brokered accord aimed at saving lands, oceans and species from pollution, degradation and the climate crisis.
The deal pledges to secure 30 percent of the planet as a protected zone by 2030 and to stump up US$30 billion in yearly conservation aid for the developing world.
Environmentalists have compared the accord to the landmark plan to limit global warming to 1.5°C under the Paris agreement, though some earlier warned that it did not go far enough.
Brian O’Donnell of the Campaign for Nature called it “the largest land and ocean conservation commitment in history.”
“The international community has come together for a landmark global biodiversity agreement that provides some hope that the crisis facing nature is starting to get the attention it deserves,” O’Donnell said. “Moose, sea turtles, parrots, rhinos, rare ferns and ancient trees, butterflies, rays, and dolphins are among the million species that will see a significantly improved outlook for their survival and abundance if this agreement is implemented effectively.”
The text calls on wealthy nations to increase financial aid to the developing world to US$20 billion a year by 2025, rising to US$30 billion a year by 2030, while ensuring 30 percent of land and sea areas are effectively conserved and managed by the end of this decade.
It pledges to safeguard the rights of indigenous peoples as stewards of their lands, a key demand of campaigners, but it pulled punches in other areas — for example, only encouraging businesses to report their biodiversity impacts rather than mandating them to do so.
The 23 targets also include cutting environmentally destructive farming subsidies, reducing the risk from pesticides and tackling invasive species.
China chaired the conference, but it was held in Canada because of Beijing’s strict COVID-19 regulations.
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