(Montreal) Young people carried out a flash action at the Palais des congrès de Montréal to denounce the too slow progress of negotiations at the 15e United Nations Conference on Biodiversity (COP15).
“Only three days left and another 700 brackets”, could we read on a poster held by a young woman, standing, surrounded by other young people lying on the ground, brackets painted in the face, in front of the large room where the plenary takes place high-level meeting bringing together nearly 140 ministers and other representatives of the “parties” to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Square brackets represent portions of text that delegates around the world are working on for which there is not yet consensus.
“We want an ambitious agreement and we want promises that are kept,” said Alice Jacobée, a French university student and member of the Global Youth Biodiversity Network, which organized the action, expressing concern about the lack of progress in the discussions. .
There are still brackets in the passages of the text relating to the reduction of pesticides and the recognition of the rights and knowledge of indigenous communities, she illustrates.
If, in a non-binding text, we fail to be ambitious, when will we be?
Alice Jacobée, Global Youth Biodiversity Network
Representatives of the Global Youth Biodiversity Network (GYBN) are present as observers at COP15 with the aim of influencing parties in the development of new biodiversity protection targets for the rest of the decade.
“We come here to carry the demands of young people”, after having conducted a consultation with young people from 50 countries”, explained Mr.me Ragwort.
“We are the future,” she added. We are the ones in brackets and we would like the brackets to drop. »