COP15: Goal is to secure biodiversity framework

The participants in the United Nations' COP15 are working toward finalizing the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework with less than a week remaining at the convention.

At the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which is taking place in Montreal (Dec 7-19), there are 53 issues and two protocols to be debated. Among those, 29 issues of the most iconic framework need to be decided.

The first "milestone" goal was achieved over the last week, with 23 conference decisions reviewed and approved, accounting for more than one-third of all conference decisions, according to Huang Runqiu, president of COP15 and China's minister of ecology and environment, who spoke to the media on Tuesday.

"When we look at what has been accomplished in the last few days, I am encouraged a lot of the standard work of the convention has indeed been coded, cleared and done and therefore a checkmark next to it. That is very helpful at this point," Inger Andersen, executive director of the UN Environment Programme, told reporters.

However, there is concern that financing could be the issue that unravels negotiations.

"I've heard the call from African countries and the broader Global South for the need for predictable, transparent and accessible financial resources for nature protection," said Steven Guilbeault, Canada's minister of environment and climate change.

A high-level segment Dec 15-17 is expected to build consensus and solve some prominent issues.

"I am eager to continue engaging with ministers in these discussions as they arrive over the course of this week," Guilbeault told the media.

There are different interests and priorities among all stakeholders at the meeting. The main differences include the mobilization of financial resources, digital sequence information (DSI), planning, monitoring, review and building capacity of the framework.

"At this point, all negotiators and all teams are encouraged to pick up the pace. As ministers will start to arrive, [it is important to involve them and have them lead the way to ensure that we can land where we all need to get to," Andersen said. "We need to ensure that proposals from all parties are on the table on resources; it becomes critical."

The parties have been working hard to seek consensus, according to Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, executive secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.

"They are making progress, but more still needs to be done," Mrema told the media.

A draft agreement in the negotiations seeks to reach a clear objective: the protection of 30 percent of the planet's land and sea by 2030, but it's beyond the "30 by 30" because the additional 70 percent also needs effective protection and management, Mrema said.

There are 167 ministerial representatives from 155 contracting parties and two observer countries confirmed to attend the high-level meeting.

Meanwhile, senior representatives from 71 international organizations and institutions also confirmed their participation. There are 118 ministers and 35 heads of international organizations confirmed to speak at the meeting.

China has provided funding for the environment ministers from small island states and least developed countries to attend the high-level meetings, to ensure the full participation of the parties.

The presence of ministers can support and facilitate the final phase of negotiations on the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and related decisions, ensuring a successful meeting, Huang said.

"We expect that by the end of the segment, the framework could be highly improved, and the draft decisions on resource mobilization and DSI are almost complete," Huang told the media, adding that the success of the meeting depends on whether the framework can be implemented in the future.