UN Biodiversity Conference COP 15 Kicks Off in Montreal

On Wednesday, the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) kicked off in Montreal (Canada).

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Negotiators from across the world are trying to adopt a new global biodiversity framework with ambitious goals and specific action targets to achieve a transformational change by the middle of the century.

The international community "expects the adoption of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, and hopes to make COP15 an important moment to reverse the loss of global biodiversity," said Huang Runqiu, China's Ecology Minister.

Parties, international organizations and stakeholders are expected to demonstrate the spirit of cooperation, political determination, sincerity and flexibility in the meeting, build strong consensus, and actively seek compromise solutions on key issues.

The tweet reads, "Montreal hosts COP 15 on biodiversity! Every gesture counts. We will all work together to offer the next generations a future where nature still has its place. We are the ones who have the power to decide, and the world is watching us."

Huang noted a few challenges in the negotiation. One of the challenges is to strike a balance between the three goals of the convention, which are, the preservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits.

Another is the mobilization of financial resources, he added. "There is still a large gap in funding, as well as disagreement in funding mechanisms."

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Director Inger Andersen also urged all parties to agree on the ambitious framework.

"It's going to take our deepest commitment. This responsibility is not a choice between something or nothing. It is a choice between everything or nothing," she said, demanding that the framework needs to dovetail with the 2015 Paris Agreement as well as other international agreements on land degradation, forests, oceans, chemicals and pollution.