A “Paris moment”. This is how Steven Guilbeault described the biodiversity agreement that has just been signed in Montreal at the end of COP15.
The comparison makes you both want to applaud and wince.
Applaud, because the Paris Agreement, to which the Canadian Minister of the Environment refers, was a great diplomatic victory. In 2015, the countries of the world agreed to limit global warming to 2 ohC, ideally at 1.5 ohvs.
In Montreal on Monday, they showed similar ambition by pledging to protect 30% of nature by 2030. Yes, it’s “historic,” as has been repeatedly said.
The problem that makes you wince is that in our country, the Paris Agreement has been ratified, but has not yet led to reductions in GHG emissions.
In short, diplomatic success has not translated into success on the ground.
We must learn from it. Examining what has been done for the climate – and, above all, what has not been done – since Paris can help us avoid the same mistakes for biodiversity.
And to transform what is now called the “Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework” into real and concrete success. (Kunming is the Chinese city where the conference was originally scheduled to take place.)
The same is true for the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, adopted in 2010 but never achieved.
To say that the Paris Agreement has had no impact in Quebec and Canada would be dishonest. It is thanks to him that Canada has adopted a “carbon neutrality accountability act”, which obliges the federal government to come up with plans to achieve its reduction targets.
It is also thanks to him that the federal government is working on a law to cap emissions from the oil sector.
But there are problems.
One of them is that Canada left late. The law supposed to implement the Paris Agreement was passed more than five years after it was signed.
This time, we must quickly examine whether our current laws, in particular the Species at Risk Acthave enough teeth to achieve the objectives negotiated in Montreal.
Otherwise, and it seems likely, we must quickly adopt a new law on biodiversity. This is all the more true since the fact that COP15 was held in our country mobilized both our politicians and civil society. We must take advantage of the tremendous momentum generated.
This possible law on biodiversity will have to avoid certain pitfalls.
Federal climate law obliges the federal government to make plans, but not to achieve its goals. We would do well to look at the United Kingdom, where the climate law is so restrictive that it exposes the government to prosecution if it misses its targets.
And it works. The British systematically achieve their climate targets and have posted GHG reductions of 20% since 2015 and 44% since 1990. Emissions from all sectors are down, including those from transport, which are exploding here.
There is no harm in copying the best. Like UK climate law, our biodiversity laws should include performance requirements.
We talk a lot about the federal government, but the environment is a shared jurisdiction in Canada. The provinces control key sectors such as forest management, energy, transport and land use planning.
Quebec must therefore also implement the Kunming-Montreal framework by creating laws or strengthening existing ones.
In Quebec, we have an indicator that does not lie: the woodland caribou. For the moment, the needle is in the red and is still going down. The citizens are impatiently waiting to see it rise again.
Lights and cameras from around the world were trained on Montreal during COP15. Now that the tour is gone, it’s time for action.
Otherwise, the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework will remain what it is now: a 14-page document filled with excellent intentions, which neither woodland caribou nor copper redhorse can read.