UK welcomes confirmation COP15 will go ahead this year, following
two-year delay.
The UK will lead ambitious calls to protect nature at a UN
meeting to agree global biodiversity targets in Nairobi this week
- in line with UK’s domestic leadership through its Environment
Act.
The UK-led statement, supported by 46 other high ambition
countries, calls on the international community to halt and
reverse biodiversity loss globally and adopt the ‘30by30’ target
to protect at least 30 per cent of land and ocean by 2030. This
will help restore ecosystems, drive species population recovery
and halt extinctions by 2050.
The preliminary discussions in
Nairobi, ahead of the rescheduled UN Convention on Biological
Diversity COP15 conference, will help shape a Global Biodiversity
Framework (GBF) to drive international action over this decade.
This will build on momentum following the UK’s COP26 presidency,
which led to the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land
Use being agreed, a commitment by 140 leaders representing 90 per
cent of the world’s forest to halt and reverse forest loss and
land degradation by 2030.
Biodiversity loss cannot be ignored – deforestation, pollution
and loss of nature is happening at an alarming rate. Following a
two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the UK also welcomes
confirmation that - under China’s presidency - the COP15
conference will go ahead later this year in Canada.
Lord , International Environment Minister, said:
Nature is in crisis. We need an ambitious set of targets to halt
and reverse biodiversity loss globally by 2030, and I am
delighted to hear the news COP15 will go ahead later this year.
Nature recovery is one of the greatest challenges we face as a
global community. We must reverse deforestation, protect our
landscapes and seas and give them and the species they hold a
chance to recover.
We welcome Canada’s announcement and offer to host, and will do
everything we can to help them make it a success. And we will
continue to support the Chinese Presidency to ensure ambitious
outcomes are achieved. I look forward to working with my
counterparts in China, Canada and throughout the international
community to make sure we make this year the Paris moment for
nature.
The UK is taking a leading role in defining and strengthening the
Global Biodiversity Framework. As leader of the Global Ocean
Alliance and Ocean Co-chair of the High Ambition Coalition for
Nature and People, the UK is championing the ‘30by30’ target, and
other ambitious outcomes for the land, ocean and species. Nearly
100 countries have now pledged to support this target.
At the Nairobi negotiations this week, the UK will coordinate a
High Ambition Statement in partnership with members of the global
community to prioritise:
- An ambitious Global Biodiversity Framework to halt and
reverse biodiversity loss globally, with goals for 2050 and
targets for 2030 and strong reporting and review mechanisms.
- A plan to increase finance flows to support biodiversity and
eliminate incentives for harmful activities
- Capacity building amongst the international community and
cooperation on technical and scientific knowledge
- An outcome on Digital Sequence Information (DSI) – the
digital representation of genetic resources – which delivers
value for the global community (see notes).
The UK is already leading the way with our commitment to spend at
least £3 billion of our £11.6 billion International Climate
Finance pledge on protecting and restoring nature, including
£500m dedicated to the ocean through the Blue Planet Fund,
alongside commitments in the International Development Strategy
and the Overseas Development Assistance.
More than half of global GDP – $44 trillion – is linked to
biodiversity and supports the livelihoods of some of the remotest
communities on the planet. This is why the international
community must take urgent action to address the emergency facing
our planet. The COP15 conference is an important step in
establishing a solid foundation to support a prosperous future
for people and the planet.
ENDS
Further information:
- For more information, visit: Convention
on Biological Diversity
- Digital Sequence Information on genetic resources (DSI)
refers to the digital representation of genetic resources which
are held in databases around the world. The COP is expected to
make a decision on how to ensure that countries that provide
genetic material for use in those databases share the benefits
that arise from their use, but without impacting on the
principles of open access and the activity of the scientific
community.
