Despite the persistence of many obstacles to a global agreement to protect biodiversity, the Canadian government says it is confident that the UN conference (COP15) which opens in a few days in Montreal will make it possible to reach an agreement to curb the decline of life on Earth.
“It will be a lot of work, but my job is to remain optimistic. And I believe that by the end of COP15, we will have good results,” argued a representative of the Canadian government on Friday morning, as part of a first press briefing at the Palais des Congrès in Montreal, where will hold the UN Biodiversity Conference from December 7-19.
“This is the biggest COP on biodiversity in history. It gives me hope in terms of understanding the importance of biodiversity and the fact that it is a crisis as existential as the climate crisis,” added the representative, who could not be named in as part of the media briefing.
“There will be several long days and several long nights” of negotiations during COP15, she nevertheless admitted, stressing the little “time” available to reach an agreement.
It must be said that the 196 countries negotiating within the Convention on Biological Diversity have still not resolved certain crucial issues to reach a global agreement on better protection of biodiversity.
This is the case with the objective of protecting 30% of natural terrestrial and marine environments by 2030, which has yet to be adopted. “It is an ambitious objective, but it is necessary to curb the loss of biodiversity”, argued the spokesperson for the federal government.
States must also agree on ways to restore ecosystems degraded by human activity, stem plastic pollution and reduce the risk posed by invasive species around the world.
preparation blitz
In addition, no Head of State or Government is expected at COP15, apart from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is due to speak at the opening ceremony of the conference, which will take place on Tuesday 6 december. He will speak alongside the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, but also the Chinese President of COP15, Huang Runqui.
Canada does not determine who is invited for COP15, it was recalled on Friday, since China is chairing the conference, which was normally to be held in China. It was moved to Montreal due to the very strict health rules that are still in force in Chinese territory.
The visit offered to the media on Friday revealed that the preparations for COP15 are still in progress. Several pavilions are still being assembled, due to the very tight deadlines for the organization of the event, it was specified on the spot. The conference had to be organized in less than six months, whereas such a summit normally takes about two years to set up.
According to data presented by the United Nations, some 17,500 people are registered for this conference. To access the site, which is surrounded by fences and guarded by a large police force, participants must present a negative test result for COVID-19 each day. They must also wear a mask inside the Palais des Congrès.