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196 Countries Join Effort to Fund Climate Action
Following a successful effort by global leaders at COP15 to create a plan and provide funding to meet the goals of protecting 30% of the world’s land and ocean by 2030, environmental leaders spoke out about the agreement:
Campaign for Nature: Global Agreement Reached to Protect and Conserve at Least 30% of World’s Land and Ocean by 2030
“The Kunming – Montreal agreement also has the potential to usher in a new paradigm for conservation, one in which Indigenous Peoples and local communities’ rights are upheld and where they are recognized for the leadership they have provided. We are eager to work with Indigenous Peoples and local communities to center the achievement of this target around their efforts.”
“As the world now turns to implement this target, we must remember that achieving 30×30 is more than just reaching a number. Through this global target, the world has committed to increase conservation in the right places and in the right ways. Now the important work begins to ensure that at least 30% of the ocean and at least 30% of the land is effectively conserved, that the most important areas for biodiversity are prioritized, and that the systems of conserved areas are well connected and representative of the world’s diverse ecosystems. We must hold governments to account to fulfill their commitments to increase funding and reform harmful subsidies.”
“To fully achieve the ambition of this target, it will take everyone – from governments to civil society to Indigenous Peoples and local communities to scientists. Together we can ensure that all of the key qualitative aspects of this target are met and the intended conservation outcomes are secured.”
“Governments will need to treat the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework as a floor, not a ceiling, for global action to halt the ongoing crisis of biodiversity. If fully implemented, this will make an important contribution to biodiversity conservation. The framework sets out key actions that we will need to take, including enhancing ecological integrity, reducing the risk of pathogen spillover, and conserving at least 30% of our lands and oceans, but it remains vague on the outcomes we need to achieve by 2030 — with a focus on 2050 deadlines for key conservation goals on ecosystems and species. That will be far too late for us to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and address related challenges such as climate change.”
Conservation International: Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework Solidifies 30X30 Target
“Now, the hard work begins. It is time to make good on the promises made in Montreal and ensure that the targets in the framework are met. It will take continued commitment and finance to avoid the mistakes of the past. With 1 million species at risk of extinction there is no time to waste and Conservation International looks forward to working toward a nature positive world in the places that people and other species depend on most.”
World Wildlife Fund: Global deal to reverse nature loss by 2030 agreed, but immediate action and funds needed to deliver
“The agreement represents a major milestone for the conservation of our natural world, and biodiversity has never been so high on the political and business agenda, but it can be undermined by slow implementation and failure to mobilize the promised resources. It also lacks a mandatory ratcheting mechanism that will hold governments accountable to increase action if targets are not met. We must now see immediate implementation of this agreement, no excuses, no delays – nature and all of us who rely on it for our livelihoods, economies and wellbeing have waited long enough, it’s time for nature to thrive again. Governments have chosen the right side of history in Montreal, but history will judge all of us if we don’t deliver on the promise made today.”
The Nature Conservancy: UN Biodiversity Conference CBD-COP15 scores historic goal for nature
“I saw first-hand in Montreal just how much effort negotiators, civil society and NGO allies invested in achieving this breakthrough. To return to World Cup metaphors – it really did feel like a championship game heading into extra time in knife-edge fashion. The big difference is that while Leo Messi and teammates now get to hang up their boots and luxuriate in a hard-fought victory – for the global biodiversity community, the next phase of hard work already beckons: mainstreaming the framework’s architecture into country-level policy that will deliver meaningful progress where it matters most: across the imperiled ecosystems that represent our planet’s collective life-support system.
“The Nature Conservancy stands ready across our global network to support what I hope will be a giant leap forward in humanity’s relationship with the natural world via the landmark Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.”
Greenpeace: COP15 recognises Indigenous Peoples’ work, but won’t disarm the threat of mass extinction
“Indigenous Peoples are the most capable and knowledgeable guardians of nature. There is so much potential for biodiversity protection if Indigenous Peoples are in leadership roles. Rights-based protections are the future of conservation. Direct finance for Indigenous Peoples is a critical next step.
“Taken altogether, however, COP15 failed to deliver the ambition, tools, or finance necessary to stop mass extinction. The 30×30 target, to protect at least 30% of land and of sea by 2030, has successfully made it in. But it is stripped-down, without essential qualifiers that exclude damaging activities from protected areas. As is, it is just an empty number, with protections on paper but nowhere else.
“USD $20 billion a year until 2025, and then $30 billion a year until 2030, is a start, but it’s not enough. With a $700 billion biodiversity funding gap, it’s unclear where the rest of the money will come from. Finance is not only a question of how much, but how fast. Setting up a fund in 2023 should get funding to developing countries faster.”