By 2030, 195 nations and the European Union committed to repair 30% of the earth’s damaged ecosystems, and double the funding for environmental protection.
The European Union (E.U.) has joined the 195 countries in the historic Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework to protect and restore nature for current and future generations, ensure its sustainable use as well as spur investments for a green global economy.
The announcement was made at the United Nations (U.N.) Biodiversity conference COP15 in Montréal, Canada. Together with the Paris Agreement on climate, it paves the way towards a climate-neutral, nature-positive and resilient world by 2050.
The agreement provides a framework with clear, measurable goals and targets, with complete monitoring, reporting, and review arrangements to track progress complemented by a robust resource mobilization package.
The Kunming-Montreal agreement will accelerate ambitious policies around the world and mobilise financing for biodiversity from all sources. It commits the global community to actions to protect and restore nature and remove pollution. This will ensure that nature continues sustaining societies, economies and communities for decades to come.
Taking it to twitter, the President of European Commission – Ursula von der Leyen tweeted,
I welcome the historic outcome of #COP15.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) December 19, 2022
The world has agreed on unprecedented and measurable nature protection and restoration goals and on a Global Biodiversity Fund.
And investing into nature also means fighting climate change.
The EU will stay the course.#NextGenerationEU
The Kunming-Montreal biodiversity agreement includes key global targets which include restoring 30% degraded ecosystems globally (on land and sea) by 2030, conserving and managing 30% areas (terrestrial, inland water, and coastal and marine) by 2030, stopping the extinction of known species, reducing the extinction risk and rate of all species tenfold by 2050.
It also includes commitment to reducing risk from pesticides by at least 50% by 2030, reducing nutrients lost to the environment by at least 50% by 2030, reducing pollution risks and negative impacts of pollution from all sources by 2030 to levels that are not harmful to biodiversity and ecosystem functions, reducing global footprint of consumption by 2030, including through significantly reducing overconsumption and waste generation and halving food waste. It also includes sustainably managing of agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries forestry and substantially increasing agroecology and other biodiversity-friendly practices. It will also cover tackling climate change through nature-based solutions and reducing the rate of introduction and establishment of invasive alien species by at least 50% by 2030.
The deal will significantly increase the mobilization of finance for biodiversity from all sources by mobilizing at least U.S. $ 200 billion per year by 2030. It will create incentives for domestic and international sources, including from business investment.
As part of the agreement, the E.U. has subscribed to an international solidarity package, particularly for the most vulnerable countries and the most biodiverse. The new Global Biodiversity Framework Fund established under the Global Environment Facility will be open to financing from all sources.
Going ahead, before the next COP in 2024, all countries have to prepare updated National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans as well as National Biodiversity Finance Strategies. The next COPs will consider if the cumulative impact of the national actions is sufficient to reach the global goals and targets for 2030 and 2050. In parallel to policy action, countries and multilateral financial institutions will now work on a fast start to the mobilization of financing.
