JOHANNESBURG, Aug 27 (IPS) – ‘Peace with Nature’ is the theme for the sixteenth assembly of the Convention of the Events (COP16) to the Conference on Organic Variety (CBD), which can happen in Cali, Colombia, between October 21 and November 1, 2024.
However what does ‘Peace with Nature’ imply?
Minister of Surroundings and Sustainable Improvement, Susana Muhamad
For COP16 chair and Minister of Surroundings and Sustainable Improvement, Susana Muhamad, the theme of Peace with Nature means understanding that local weather change and restoring nature are either side of the identical coin.
“That is the primary motivation why Colombia determined to host this convention, we see there’s a double motion that humanity has to make,” Muhamad advised a press briefing on August 22, 2024.
Her imaginative and prescient clearly locations biodiversity as politically related because the local weather change agenda.
Whereas it’s essential to decarbonize and have a simply vitality transition, it is equally vital to “restore nature” in order that it could actually, in the long run, “stabilize the local weather.”
She outlines three political successes: sturdy engagement from all sectors, positioning biodiversity as a parallel motion to decarbonization, and approving the Digital Sequencing Data Fund.
“Similtaneously we aren’t decarbonizing, the local weather will proceed altering, and nature won’t have the time to adapt,” Muhamad stated. “And if nature collapses, communities and other people can even collapse, and society will collapse.”
COP16’s function as the primary of three COPs (organized respectively by the UNCBD, UNFCCC and UNCCD) this yr is to convey “political and financial consciousness to biodiversity and so convey humanity again to protected limits throughout the 21st century.”
CBD Govt Secretary Astrid Schomaker
For CBD’s Govt Secretary Astrid Schomaker, the Columbian presidency’s theme of Peace with Nature is a name to motion.
She describes the Kunming-Montreal World Biodiversity Framework (KMGVF) because the blueprint for making peace with nature, with 4 objectives: defending and restoring nature, sharing advantages, investing in nature, and collaborating with nature.
Schomaker asserts that COP16 is crucial for resolving the excellent points from COP 15.
“That is about entry and profit sharing of digital sequence info from genetic assets. Now that is a really technical topic, however the very, crucial one additionally when it comes to the mobilization of assets, but in addition when it comes to the understanding of how we work together with nature, that after we take from nature, we profit from nature, we give again to nature.”
Schomaker additionally referred to the necessity to finance biodiversity with worldwide help, including to Canada’s donation of USD 200 million. The fund presently stands at USD 300 million.
Lastly, COP16 will embody initiatives that can convey indigenous peoples and native communities to the desk and elevate their voices in order that the standard information they will convey can deepen the talk.
Canadian Surroundings Minister Steven Guilbeault
Handing over the baton to the COP16 presidency, Guilbeault seemed again at COP15, which has been termed biodiversity’s “Paris second,” referring to the Paris Local weather Treaty of 2015, which goals to carry “the rise within the international common temperature to nicely under 2°C above pre-industrial ranges” and pursue efforts “to restrict the temperature enhance to 1.5°C above pre-industrial ranges.”
Regardless of the achievements and onerous work, biodiversity points are nonetheless difficult, and aren’t but at “Peace with Nature.”
“Species are nonetheless going extinct. We nonetheless use pure assets unsustainably. And we have nonetheless not collectively realized that, within the combat towards local weather change, our greatest ally is nature.”
What are the challenges?
Finance
Muhamad acknowledged that financing is essential for “sustained” and safe assets for the long run. She known as on Events to come back ahead and make agency commitments to finance biodiversity, though they’ve till 2025 to take action when it comes to the Kunming-Montreal World Biodiversity Framework.
The COP16 chairperson additionally hoped that this discussion board could be a “pioneer” for brand new financing mechanisms that transcend counting on international locations financing the framework and to “open new doorways of potentialities for funding mechanisms which are extra sustainable and which are on the scale of the problem that we face.”
Enterprise
Muhamad additionally referred to the proactive function of enterprise with regard to their duties in direction of preserving a protected atmosphere and its contribution to biodiversity.
The framework mandates authorities take away, over time, subsidies to sectors of the economic system that will influence biodiversity. This might result in backlash, so human rights and equity are essential; nonetheless, there are additionally many alternatives.
“We hope at COP16 to convey a whole lot of inspiration from these enterprise fashions which are already included and taking nature as a design into consideration, and which are being the vanguard of recent prospects.”
It’s also essential to make this a partnership between authorities and enterprise to maneuver ahead and there will likely be alternatives in each the inexperienced and blue zones at COP16 to take the dialog ahead.
Digital sequencing
Muhamad anticipates that the approval of a digital sequencing fund and the mechanism for implementation will likely be key achievements of the negotiations.
Schomaker added that it had already been “determined that there will likely be a brand new international mechanism for sharing the advantages of digital sequencing info on genetic assets, and that international mechanism features a fund.” What remains to be underneath dialogue is what kind the fund will take.
“Will or not it’s a brand new fund, a totally new fund, which is among the choices on the desk, or will or not it’s one of many present funds that we have now?”
David Cooper, CBD’s Deputy Govt Secretary , agreed that the dialogue consists of whether or not to make use of present funds just like the World Biodiversity Fund, which is managed by the World Surroundings Facility or create a brand new fund.
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© Inter Press Service (2024) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service
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