The UN conference on biodiversity (COP15) was marked by a burst of political tensions on Wednesday, due to the lack of progress on the thorny issue of financing the implementation of the agreement which must be signed in Montreal. Dozens of developing countries walked out of negotiations on this issue, forcing wealthy states to open up more dialogue to avoid the failure of the entire conference.
Around 1 a.m., on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, several countries dissatisfied with the content of the negotiations on the “mobilization of resources” chose to leave the room, while deploring the lack of will of the developed countries to achieve an agreement on the means of financing the implementation of a global agreement for the protection of biodiversity. According to available information, Brazil would have initiated the movement, followed by delegations from several Latin American countries, African countries, but also India, Indonesia and the Philippines.
In a written statement they later issued, they recalled that their territories “host the majority of the world’s biological diversity”. In this context, they added in substance, the issue of financial resources will be crucial to further protect natural ecosystems, restore those that have been degraded, fight against pollution, reduce the use of pesticides and transform agricultural practices. In short, to respect the objectives that we wish to include in the “post-2020 framework” which must normally be signed on December 19, that is to say in less than five days.
The bloc of developing countries assesses that the needs amount to “at least 100 billion dollars per year”, and this, until 2030. After this date, they warned in their missive, the amounts should be “revised », and therefore probably improved. And the whole thing should be put into a new international fund.
There will be no global biodiversity framework on December 19 without funding
But this idea, and the amounts that should be promised, do not please some rich countries. The European Union and Japan were also singled out on Wednesday, as Canada questions the relevance of creating a new fund, stressing that it “could take years”, according to the federal Minister of the Environment. , Steven Guilbeault.
As part of a press scrum at the end of the day, the latter also criticized Brazil, judging that the fact of claiming 100 billion dollars in public funds is “counterproductive”. “All sources must be tapped,” he said, referring in particular to private sector funding. He nevertheless wanted to be reassuring. “We knew from the outset that the issue of financial mobilization was an issue that ministers were going to have to address. This will be the case over the next few days”, since the ministers of the delegations must in theory finalize the agreement from December 15 to 17.
“Solutions”
Canada, which works “closely” with China, which chairs COP15, also wanted to calm things down on Wednesday. “Some countries feel they have not been listened to on the issue of resource mobilization. My message is as follows: we hear you and we are working to present concrete solutions”, summed up Mr. Guilbeault, saying he was “confident of reaching an ambitious agreement”.
In an attempt to get the dialogue back on track, the minister promised an announcement Thursday on the issue of funding. “We are working with all the donor countries to make a very important announcement on this issue,” he said, refusing however to specify whether the 100 billion dollars claimed will be there.
Director of climate diplomacy at the Climate Action Network, Eddy Perez insists on the absolute necessity of settling this issue, which will decide the possible success of the conference or an assured failure. “There will be no global biodiversity framework on December 19 without funding,” he drops.
“It’s a matter of logic. You cannot ask ministers from Latin America, Africa or Asia to justify adopting a global framework, with so many objectives, without proof that there will be funding to implement it. work. We cannot ask them to take all the responsibility on their shoulders without considering basic issues such as international solidarity,” he argues.
Co-chair of the working group on the global biodiversity framework, Basile Van Havre echoed the same idea on Wednesday. “Negotiating a document is one thing. Implementing it is another,” he said, noting that countries will need to be very clear “about how it will be funded.” “It’s not just the amount. We also have to see how these resources will be mobilized, to know where they are needed most quickly to implement this agreement, starting in 2023,” added Florian Titze, of the German branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). ).
1 trillion
President of the International Development Finance Club, which brings together several development banks, Rémy Rioux welcomes the fact that there are finally more discussions on finance at the UN conference on biodiversity.
In an interview, he recalls that the financial sector has accelerated the transition in favor of the fight against the climate crisis following the signing of the Paris Agreement, of which he was one of the architects. “The same kind of mechanism should be included in the biodiversity agreement to send the same kind of signal. The financial sector reacts to signals. If he is there, it will go quickly, and he will take into account the targets of the agreement. »
On the question of financing, he is also categorical: “the amount of 100 billion dollars will not be enough, but it is important to send a signal of solidarity which creates confidence between countries”. The estimated annual need, he adds, is $1 trillion in nature-positive investments, including different types of funds.
He also believes that the sums will be there quickly. “But you have to know if we’re doing it fast enough, because it’s a speed race that’s underway, between the disappearance of species, the climate crisis and the transformation of our ways of living, and therefore of investing and consume. And we are very late. »