Past events
All eventsCOP15 Biodiversity: towards the adoption of a new global framework for biodiversity
Canada will host the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity from December 7 to 19, 2022. This COP will validate the next global framework for biodiversity for the decade 2020-2030.
The UN Biodiversity Conference will bring together governments from around the world to agree on a new set of targets for nature over the next decade, through the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Post-2020 Framework process.
The United Nations Conference on Biodiversity was originally scheduled to take place from October 15 to 28, 2020 in Kunming, China, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 several times! A first phase took place virtually from October 11 to 15, 2021; the second phase will therefore take place in Montreal, from December 7 to 19, 2022 in Montreal, headquarters of the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
An important environmental summit
The Convention on Biological Diversity was first signed by 150 heads of government at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. Its main objectives are the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable distribution of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources.
The COP15 is a fundamental meeting, as the biodiversity crisis and the degradation of ecosystems have direct consequences on our societies, from climate change to water quality or the resilience of territories (see the appeal signed by IFGR on wetlands, our life insurance). It also comes after the end of the round of negotiations started in 2010 (Aichi Convention), which defined a strategy for the period 2010-2020. The new negotiations should lead to a framework agreement, which will guide international action, much like the Paris Climate Agreement signed in 2015.
The major issues of the COP:
- A more ambitious protection target:
The Aichi objectives provided for the establishment of protected areas on 17% of land and 10% of marine areas. The texts discussed set a more ambitious target: 30% on land and sea (30/30 program).
- An international financing plan:
As with climate change, financing is an essential issue in the fight against the biodiversity crisis, and an issue that divides rich and poor countries. Indeed, most of the natural areas rich in biodiversity (sometimes called hotspots) are located in poor or developing countries, while most rich countries have already largely degraded their biodiversity and their local ecosystems. Some countries are advocating for the adoption of a specific fund, with funding of 100 billion per year, rising to 700 billion by 2030.
- An end to subsidies for products that are harmful to biodiversity:
The pre-discussions held in Geneva in 2021 called for a reduction of 500 billion per year in subsidies to harmful products such as pesticides and fossil fuels at the international level. The associative world, for its part, advocates an end to subsidies for these products.
- The framework of the Information on Digital Sequences (ISN):
Digital Sequence Information refers to issues related to the DNA sequencing of living organisms and its possible regulation.
All COP-15 sessions will be streamed live on the YouTube channel.