COP15 | A “historic” agreement adopted in the bickering

(Montreal) A “historic” agreement to reverse the global decline in biodiversity was snatched overnight from Sunday to Monday, at the 15^e United Nations Conference on Biodiversity (COP15), in Montreal.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted in plenary, around 3:30 a.m., after a long day of negotiations marked by a showdown between the Chinese presidency of the conference and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The key objective of protecting “at least 30% of land, inland waters and oceans” remains there, and a way through has been found to resolve the thorny issue of financing measures to protect biodiversity in countries. in development.

A dedicated biodiversity-specific trust fund will be created from the Global Environment Facility and will be endowed with at least $20 billion per year by 2025 and at least $30 billion by 2030 , satisfying both the European Union, which refused the creation of a new fund, and the developing countries, which demanded one.

“We took a historic step together tonight,” exclaimed Steven Guilbeault, Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

The deal is “both fragile and historic,” said Eddy Perez, director of international climate diplomacy at Climate Action Network Canada.

“Its success will be measured by its implementation,” he says.

However, while the framework is ambitious, it “remains weak” in terms of the measures that will be deployed to achieve its objectives, believes Mr. Pérez.

At the global level, the main challenge will therefore be to find funding.

At the national level, Canada’s priority, according to Mr. Perez, would be to quickly pass a law on biodiversity.

Compromise

The final agreement was expurgated of certain passages which blocked the achievement of a consensus, in the last days.

The quantified target for reducing the use of pesticides, which in a previous draft was at least 50%, or even two-thirds, was abandoned in the final version, which instead refers to a reduction by half of the “overall risk linked pesticides and highly hazardous chemicals.

Eliminating plastic waste and e-waste discharges has been replaced by “preventing, reducing and working towards the elimination of plastic pollution”.

The 2050 Global Biodiversity Vision has further been stripped of its interim targets for 2030, which will make it “difficult to assess whether or not the global biodiversity framework is actually generating positive impacts on ecosystems”. , worried the non-governmental organization Avaaz.

Bisbill, but a procedure respected

Deploring the “lack of ambition” of the text on the issue of financing conservation measures and on the objective of protecting 30% of land, inland waters and oceans, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) said during the plenary “unable to support the adoption of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework in its current state”, throwing a chill in the room.

Mexico then took the floor and launched “an appeal for common sense, for flexibility” and asked for the adoption of the global framework, provoking thunderous applause and a standing ovation.

After several minutes of closed-mic discussions with his entourage, COP15 President and Chinese Environment Minister Huang Runqi said he heard the “resounding support from the room” for the draft agreement and proposed its adoption, continuing with a symbolic hammer blow and declaring the text adopted, provoking a new round of applause.

This rapid adoption was nevertheless criticized by certain African countries, Cameroon deploring “a passage in force” and Uganda registering in false against “the way” employed.

The Legal Adviser to the Convention on Biological Diversity took the floor to say that he had heard no formal objections, only “comments”.

“What is taking place today is without any error from a legal point of view,” he said.

Minister Steven Guilbeault also said he was completely comfortable with the way the agreement was adopted.

“I’ve been to several COPs where things have tumbled out quickly,” he said. It’s not the first time this has happened at a UN meeting, and it’s unlikely to be the last. »