December 21, 2022
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COP15, the biggest biodiversity conference in a decade, held in Montréal (the seat of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat) ended with the adoption of the long-awaited Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Almost 200 nations signed onto the landmark agreement, which includes four long-term goals for 2050 and 23 targets for 2030.
The Future Earth Canada Hub was onsite during COP15 negotiations supporting experts from the Future Earth network who contributed to actionable solutions and were involved throughout the conference at workshops, side events, and forums.
Dr. Éliane Ubalijoro, Executive Director of Sustainability in the Digital Age and Global Hub Director for Future Earth Canada, joined panels for four events during COP15, which ran from from 7 – 19 December 2022. These events highlighted different ways we can address biodiversity loss and work to achieve our biodiversity goals:
- Regenerative Agriculture: Building Resilience across the Value Chain – this event gathered “experts, policymakers, innovators and investors to tackle how to stimulate resilient food production and security to support global biodiversity.”
- Business investing for biodiversity and climate objectives to support the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and the Paris Agreement – this panel brought together a variety of financial experts who explored “the potential for private finance to invest in protecting intact nature for biodiversity and climate objectives in support of an ambitious GBF.”
- Montréal: Hub of international action on biodiversity – this event aimed to “highlight the work of international organizations (IO) based in Montréal in biodiversity protection and sustainable development more generally” and showcased “not only the innovative projects of IOs, but also how they are anchored and collaborate with the local Montréal ecosystem in sustainable development.”
- Aligning Agricultural Subsidies With Nature and Biodiversity Goals – this panel brought together “experts from the world of finance and investment, academic, civil society groups and youth to discuss how we can drive change to repurpose agricultural subsidies to protect the ecosystems we rely on for food, livelihoods and for our economy.”
As Dr. Ubalijoro noted, “to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, we need to use all tools at our disposal. Of course this means policy and citizen action, but it also means calling on large corporations and financial investors to back sustainable supply chains and to be first movers on purchasing credits that cover a holistic combination of carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation and support for sustainable livelihoods. It is exciting that we now have over 1,100 companies generating over 5 trillion USD asking governments to support them by adopting the needed regulations to ensure all private corporations work towards nature positive economies that bend the curve on biodiversity loss. COP15 opened up a door for new conversations that target innovative business-for-nature frameworks and collaborations to align climate and biodiversity goals.”
Take a moment and watch this video with interviews from the Future Earth delegation and the Mother Earth song performed by Elder Patricia Saulis from Tobique First Nation.