The 15th session of the United Nation (UN) Biodiversity Conference (COP15) drew to a close in Montreal, Canada on 19 December 2022 after two weeks' negotiation.
COP15 was hailed as a success with the signing of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) by nations participating in the conference. The key takeaways of the framework include the pledge to protect 30% of the world's land, water and marine resources by 2030 (the 30 x 30 pledge) and the agreement to provide USD200 billion by 2030 to be used for biodiversity-related projects. For details of COP15, please visit https://unfccc.int/news/new-international-biodiversity-agreement-strengthens-climate-action.
Executive Secretary of the United Nation Convention on Biological Diversity, Elizabeth Mrema, pronounced the conference the "Paris moment for biodiversity"[1], drawing reference to the historic 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change. The Agreement was considered the watershed moment in the tackling of climate change.
However, some pundits lamented the lack of stronger measures related to the use of pesticides and prevention of species facing extinction, among others.
Whether the GBF will be the landmark agreement to forestall the degradation of our ecosystem and halting of biodiversity loss remains to be seen. Afterall, implementation would be key to its success. A case in point is the Paris Agreement, where few countries are currently on track to cut carbon emission in accordance with their pledge under the said Agreement and financial support to fund clean energy projects in developing countries are also falling short.