Can COP15 deliver for nature? With COP15 just two months away, Claire Thorpe gives an overview of what we might expect from the summit, and talks to Dr Scott Leatham about what it could mean for the climate.
Targets for nature protection
There are three main targets for the 196 countries attending the summit to agree on. The first is protecting 30% of the world’s land and sea by 2030. Some of the big points of disagreement will likely surround where these protected areas are located, who funds them, and how ecologically intact the areas must be (for example, how much of the original species richness does the ecosystem contain, or how fragmented and degraded is the habitat). Secondly, there is a finance target. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) is looking for a $200 billion increase in international funds from all sources. This would help fund conservation work and generate security for protected areas, helping ensure they can be policed. Extra funding may also come from the third big commitment - to redirect or reform financial incentives that currently enable and contribute to practices harmful to biodiversity. This includes subsidies for intensive agriculture, deforestation, and fossil fuel extraction. There is also mention of a target for reductions in invasive non-native species, reductions in pollution from pesticides, fertilisers, and plastics, and the contribution of nature-based solutions to fighting climate change.
ratified the treaty and will not be part of the negotiations) in 1992, the first global treaty for protecting wildlife and nature. As with the climate, countries have fallen far short of their targets for 2010 and 2020, as downwards trends for most species continue at pace, with a 2019 study showing one in nine species globally at risk of extinction this century. Most of the biggest drivers for biodiversity loss cannot be tackled at a national scale. Pollution, invasive species, and the factors that lead to habitat loss (for example, overconsumption) are global issues. Between 2010 and 2020, some countries developed strategies for meeting targets to prevent the loss of biodiversity, but they didn’t have time to act on them before the 2020 deadline. Now, 192 countries have such strategies, so they should be able to work much faster to implement them and work to their targets to protect habitats and species going forwards. CS
Shutterstock/Ecuadorpostales
About the author
Claire Thorpe is the Communications Manager for CAT, her background is in wildlife conservation and outreach. Ana Pessoa
A
fter all the buzz around COP26 in November, you could be forgiven for thinking we’re taking a trip back in time to a previous conference. But we’re referring to a future COP15 this one focused on biodiversity. COP15 was scheduled to be held in Kunming, China, in October 2020, but just like its climate cousin, it was delayed due to the pandemic. The meeting, where countries hope to agree on a post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, has been rescheduled to May this year, although there are growing doubts about the feasibility of holding the event in person.
Historic failures
The Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD) was signed by 196 countries (not including the US, which never
16 Clean Slate
Indigenous groups at the COP26 Coalition Global Day of Action
