STATEMENT: COP15 a Pivotal Moment to Chart Course, Secure Funding for Biodiversity Conservation

Arlington, VA (December 2, 2022) – Today, Conservation International’s Vice President of International Policy, Lina Barrera, issued the below statement ahead of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15), which will take place in Montreal from December 7-19, 2022.

The key outcome of COP15 will be the finalization of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, which will guide global biodiversity conservation action and funding for the rest of this decade. 

“The time is now. After years of delays due to Covid-19, the world is on its way to Montreal for the COP15 summit. We are approaching a pivotal moment where we must collectively address the looming biodiversity crisis. With the number of species disappearing more than any other period in human history, there is no more time to waste.

“The agreements reached over the next couple of weeks will play a large part in determining the future of our planet and ultimately the future of humanity. I am hopeful that when COP15 ends, biodiversity will have achieved its own Paris moment where countries will have an actionable, ambitious and well-funded blueprint to guide conservation actions for the rest of the decade.

“Think of the current moment like a footrace: the finalization of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) will be the starting line and the next eight years will be the time in which we need to reach the finish line and create a nature positive world by 2030.

“To be successful, the final GBF must prioritize action in the places that mean the most for human well-being. To reach global benchmarks it is essential that we complement the 30x30 global protection goal with efforts to seriously expand conservation and restoration in the places that provide water, food, livelihoods, climate security and protection from storms and floods. There are undeniable synergies across nature’s values. The lands providing the most direct benefit to people are  also home to at least 60% of all terrestrial vertebrate species – mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians – and overlaps with more than 80% of the global area most important for maintaining critical ‘irrecoverable carbon’ stores.

“This overlap creates an opportunity to mitigate both the climate and biodiversity crises, while sustaining the nature that people need. The potential co-benefits are immense which means we must be more ambitious than the Aichi Targets and establish an accessible, equitable finance plan. Without adequate funding the GBF will be a plan without the resources needed to drive action.

“Biodiversity loss tends to be a quiet crisis that flies just under the radar. For example, last year, more public and private finance was dedicated to climate action than ever before. We now need the same level of support for biodiversity. If done right, these investments can ensure the nature we all rely on continues to thrive, helping to solve multiple environmental crises at once.

 “We at Conservation International are hopeful that the global community will seize the moment and unite for our shared purpose and wellbeing by reaching a final outcome that is inclusive, well-funded and ambitious. The GBF in Montreal could become the Paris Climate Accord moment for biodiversity.”

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About Conservation International: Conservation International protects nature for the benefit of humanity. Through science, policy, fieldwork and finance, we spotlight and secure the most important places in nature for the climate, for biodiversity and for people. With offices in 30 countries and projects in more than 100 countries, Conservation International partners with governments, companies, civil society, Indigenous peoples and local communities to help people and nature thrive together. Go to Conservation.org for more, and follow our work on Conservation News, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.