The European Union is participating in resumed global biodiversity meetings to advance on the development of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework – a new global accord to halt and reverse the loss of the planet’s plants, animals and ecosystems.
The talks currently taking place in Geneva are the last official session for governments to negotiate on the once-in-a-decade global agreement before it arrives in Kunming, China, to be adopted at the UN Biodiversity Conference COP15 later in the year.
“In these challenging times, multilateralism is more critical than ever, for people and the nature we depend on,” said Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius. “The evidence is clear: we need a future in harmony with nature, for ourselves, for future generations, for our climate and for sustainable development — and we need a common roadmap to achieve it. At COP15, the international community will seek to agree on an ambitious global biodiversity framework with strong monitoring to measure progress on the ground in reversing nature loss. But we are not there yet and we need to significantly narrow the gaps between Parties’ positions. The EU goes to the Geneva negotiations pushing for ambition and leading by example.”
The EU has shown leadership working with like-minded countries towards an ambitious agreement, with measurable targets to address direct and indirect drivers of loss, much stronger provisions on monitoring and review and clarity on the means of implementation.
Now, the EU will negotiate for ambitious, measurable and time-bound goals, milestones and targets that will aim for all of the world’s ecosystems to be restored, resilient and adequately protected by 2050. It will also push for targets to address the direct and indirect drivers of biodiversity loss and ensure sustainable use of natural resources, including 30×30 target to protect at least 30 per cent of the world’s land and oceans by 2030, complemented by targets that address the direct and indirect drivers of biodiversity loss.
Among other goals, the EU will insist on operational provisions to mobilise finance and other means of implementation. In this regard, in September, President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen announced that the EU will double its international biodiversity financing, in particular for the most vulnerable countries.
