Representatives of nearly 200 governments from all around the world signed a pact, dubbed as "historic," at the closure of the 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Montreal on Monday.
COP15, co-hosted by the governments of Canada and China, was aimed at protecting global nature and halting biodiversity loss over the next decade.
The agreement considers maintaining, enhancing, and restoring the planet's ecosystems, as well as targeting 30% of lands and oceans conserved by 2030. The parties also agreed on halting human-caused extinctions of species that are known to be under threat, along with promoting their recovery within the time limits of the deal.
“Just six months ago, we didn’t know if we were going to even be able to have this conference and or even less to be able to adopt this historic document. And this was only possible through the collaboration of all countries present here tonight,” said Canada’s newly appointed Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault, adding that the deal was a “bold step forward to protect nature.”
Although COP15 took place from December 7 to 19, talks over the Kunming-Montreal pact had been ongoing for more than four years, as the conference had been delayed several times due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Following nearly two weeks of face-to-face negotiations in Montreal, the adoption of the final version of the agreement faced some obstacles, before it was reportedly forced by China’s President Xi Jinping.
Delegates from a number of countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Brazil, and Indonesia, which are home to the world’s three mega-diverse rainforests, along with Cameroon and Uganda, objected to the adoption of the deal, demanding more financial assistance in order to meet the announced biodiversity conservation targets.
They suggested the establishment of a new financing mechanism, separate from the United Nations’ Global Environment Facility (GEF).
However, the final deal included the creation of the new fund within the existing GEF fund, leaving the possibility for developing a separate mechanism open for future discussions.