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This week’s header image is the biodiversity stripes. Similar to the climate stripes, it visually represents how biodiversity has collapsed in the last 50 years. Each line represents a year from 1970-2020 and shows the declining health of global biodiversity, which diminished by 73% during that time.
The biodiversity stripes were created to bring attention to the action needed to restore biodiversity and the importance of the Conference of the Parties to the UN’s Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP16), which starts on Monday (October 21st). This is the first biodiversity COP since global governments agreed to the Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework two years ago. The agreement involves halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030 by protecting and conserving 30% of every country’s land and sea.
COP16 was meant to be the forum where countries shared their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) on how they plan to achieve the goals of the Montreal Framework. However, only 25 of the 195 countries have submitted an NBSAP before the deadline, with more planning to reveal them next week.
COP16 is not the only COP happening in the coming months (using the name COP for all these important meetings is confusing!). In November, the more well-known climate COP29 will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, and in December, another COP16, but for desertification, will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
COP29 has been dubbed ‘The Finance COP’ as this year’s event will focus on increasing the current $100 billion commitment for climate funding from developed nations to developing nations (the original pledge was met in 2022). Negotiations will be tough this year as developing nations need at least $500 billion annually to adapt to the effects of climate change. One method to mobilize finance seems closer after a UN expert group reached a compromise on key elements of a global carbon trading system – an important tool for raising climate finance.
This year’s United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) COP16 is expected to be the largest UN desertification event yet. It will focus on finding investment and accelerating action on drought resilience, land degradation, and desertification.
These three COPs are known as the Rio Conventions, which are meant to work harmoniously to help solve our interconnected environmental issues. This is the first year the three host nations have collaborated on these COP issues under a new “Rio Trio Initiative.”
These COPs are an important but imperfect process. A COP biodiversity target agreement has never been reached. It looks like the goals from the famous COP Paris Agreement are unlikely to be met, and we are way off meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This record has led to calls for some to streamline and reform the COP process. However, others believe the inclusive yet flawed nature of COPs is essential as it is the only forum we have for global cooperation on climate, biodiversity, and SDG action.
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