INo breakthrough was achieved in the preliminary negotiations for a new, global framework for nature conservation in Montreal. Observers described the results as ambivalent at best. The experts, who tried to solve the numerous open questions from December 3rd to 5th, are now handing over a rough draft to the conference, “which will be challenging to negotiate in many respects,” it said.
The Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, Inger Andersen, and the head of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, warned in Montreal on Tuesday that it was high time that the negotiators moved towards each other.
The negotiations initially focused on the least controversial points, said the geoecologist Axel Paulsch from the Institute for Biodiversity, who is an observer in Montreal, the FAZ. There was agreement on the formulation of a few goals in the planned agreement: about the consideration of indigenous peoples and local communities in decision-making processes, the goal of gender justice and the special consideration of the concerns of women and girls.
However, no agreement has been reached on key issues such as the goal of protecting 30 percent of land and sea surface, nor on financial support for developing countries to protect biodiversity. The planned goals for the private sector were also described as difficult.
Guterres sounds the alarm
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, among others, spoke at the ceremonial opening of the conference on Tuesday afternoon local time. China, which holds the presidency of the conference, will be represented by Chinese Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu. Runqui spoke of a “historic moment”. Effective solutions are needed to overcome the biodiversity crisis. China will endeavor to bridge the differences between the delegations.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres made urgent appeals to the assembled delegations. It is high time for a “peace with nature” and a strong agreement to protect biodiversity on earth,” Guterres said at the opening ceremony of the summit in Montreal on Tuesday. “We wage war against nature.”
Mankind treats nature like a toilet, Guterres said. “And in the end we are committing vicariously suicide, because the loss of nature and biodiversity comes with enormous costs for mankind.” At the World Nature Summit, the “orgy of destruction” must end – “no excuses. No delays. Promises must be kept.”
Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens), who will represent Germany, indirectly criticized China in an interview with the FAZ: “The position of countries that are global players in economic growth and consumption of nature but do not want to provide financial support is discussed in Montreal will certainly be a talking point.”
