New biodiversity commitments announced as world leaders declare nature summit COP15 a priority - GEF

New commitments aimed at catalyzing biodiversity finance and conservation were unveiled today at a high-level event convened on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to showcase action and support for a nature-positive world.

New initiatives announced include €0.87 billion of new funding from the German government; a 10 point plan for financing biodiversity, endorsed by 16 initial countries; and the next phase of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People (HAC for Nature and People 2.0), supporting the protection of at least 30% of land and ocean globally, announced by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica on behalf of the President of Costa Rica. An accelerator for action on biodiversity was also announced by the Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia on behalf of the President of Colombia.

 

The announcement that Germany is increasing its international biodiversity funding to €1.5 billion per year, representing an increase of €0.87 billion from the German government’s average funding between 2016-2020, represents the highest total international yearly financial commitment of all industrialized countries to biodiversity conservation, so far. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, “The UN Biodiversity Conference in December needs to be a turning point for our conservation efforts. Germany resolutely supports the idea of an ambitious global framework on biodiversity. Such a framework needs a strong implementation mechanism that sets us on a path to saving and restoring our ecosystems. Protecting at least 30 percent of our land and oceans plays a crucial role in this. At the G7 Summit in Germany, we agreed to substantially increase funding for nature by 2025. Germany is doing its part and will continue to do so. As part of our commitment to an international climate finance budget of €6 billion annually by 2025 at the latest, we will increase our biodiversity funding massively to €1.5 billion per year. With this contribution, we want to send a strong signal for an ambitious outcome of the biodiversity COP15.”

 

Countdown to COP15: Landmark Leaders’ Event for a Nature-Positive World saw world leaders declare the success of COP15 a priority for their governments and call for all countries to work together to secure an ambitious global biodiversity agreement in Montreal in the face of an escalating nature crisis that is threatening health, food security, and livelihoods, while undermining climate action and sustainable development.

 

Attending leaders reaffirmed their commitment to reverse biodiversity loss and secure a nature-positive world by 2030, including through adopting a transformative biodiversity agreement at COP15 in Montreal. Leaders reaffirmed their commitments to protect and conserve at least 30% of land and ocean by 2030, transform production and consumption to be well within planetary boundaries, and ensure an equitable transition to nature-positive economies.

 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said: “Canada stepped up to host COP15 – the Nature COP – in Montreal this December because we know what’s at stake – healthy land and waters, strong economies, and a bright future for generations to come. At home, Canada is making historic progress to reach our commitment to protect 30% of our land and 30% of our oceans by 2030. On the world stage, including at COP15, we will continue to mobilize global support to reach this target and protect biodiversity around the planet. This is the moment for the world to come together and agree on an ambitious global plan to halt and reverse the loss of biodiversity and set our natural world on the path to recovery.”

 

Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves Robles said: ”For the last three years Costa Rica has championed the critical global goal to protect at least 30% of our planet’s land and ocean by 2030 through the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People and its 103 members. Today, we are announcing that our coalition has taken the important next step by committing to ensure the implementation of the ’30by30′ target with the support of governments, philanthropists, academia, Indigenous Peoples representatives and local communities. Costa Rica is totally committed to take action to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 and I reaffirm my country’s determination to work tirelessly to achieve a robust global agreement for nature at the Convention on Biological Diversity COP15 taking place in Montreal, in December. This is our once-in-a-decade chance to act together to prevent the collapse of the natural systems that provide our food, clean water, clean air and stable climate that are the basis of our global economy.”

 

Prime Minister of Bhutan Dr. Lotay Tshering said: “World leaders are today collectively saying action on nature cannot wait. Bhutan is blessed with rich biodiversity and natural heritage. We continue to take pride in being a carbon negative country and maintain the environment as an integral part of gross national happiness. We call on all countries to deliver a nature-positive global biodiversity agreement at COP15. A healthy environment is the prerequisite for the health and happiness of current and future generations.”

 

Unveiled by the governments of Ecuador, Gabon, the Maldives, and the United Kingdom, the Political Vision: The 10 Point Plan for Financing Biodiversity aims to provide a comprehensive way forward for governments and the finance sector to ensure we invest in protecting nature, rather than destroy it. It includes commitments to increase international and domestic funding for biodiversity from all sources, reduce harmful expenditures, and align public and private flows to be nature-positive.

 

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