Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has called on richer countries to step up and provide more financial support to protect Earth’s ecosystems at the UN biodiversity conference, COP15, in Montreal.
The conference is looking to achieve a “Paris-style” deal to preserve 30 percent of countries’ land and water by 2030, a goal that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has backed.
Secretary-General António Guterres also highlighted the need to take action to protect the natural environment.
The science is clear – global biodiversity is declining at an alarming rate, and countries must take steps to protect 30 percent of their terrestrial, inland water and marine areas.
The UK and Costa Rica are leading the charge, and over 100 countries have already agreed to the plan.
Greenpeace has urged richer countries to take on a fair share of the financial burden and help nations in the Global South protect their natural ecosystems.
President Lula believes that the richer countries should do all they can to help protect the environment, and that it is not just the responsibility of developing countries.
He believes that COP15 is a great chance for nations to come together and make a real difference to the state of the environment, and he is urging wealthy countries to step up and do their part.
In a letter from Lula’s presidential transition team, he suggested that rich nations needed to step up their commitments to developing nations.
“How can the developed world recognise the magnitude of the triple planetary crisis and not respond to calls for greater ambition in biodiversity funding beyond the existing financing architecture through additional and innovative strategies and instruments?” the letter asks.
“Funding proposals put forth by developing countries to generate new and additional funding dedicated specifically to biodiversity-related initiatives need to be taken seriously. Developing countries hold the overwhelming majority of the world’s biodiversity and have a key role to play in this agenda.”
On Thursday, China, the president of Cop15, outlined its plans for the final days of the summit, which is set to end on Monday. The Canadian environment minister, Steven Guilbeault, will co-host talks on resolving key issues, a sign that the co-hosts are working well together despite differences between Chinese president Xi Jinping and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Xi, speaking via video link on Thursday, urged countries to work together to promote “harmonious coexistence between man and nature.” He said, “As an old Chinese saying goes, ‘all living things should flourish without harming each other, all ways of life should thrive without hindering each other.’ Let us work together to open a new chapter in building a community of all life on Earth and create a bright future of harmonious coexistence.”
China’s environment minister and Cop15 president, Huang Runqiu, sent a letter to countries on Thursday explaining the plans for the final days of the summit. He has paired ministers from developed and developing countries in an attempt to resolve three key issues: conservation targets, funding, and the use of digital forms of biodiversity.
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