But equally important is that we do not forget another very important ‘COP’ that has been launched right under the nose of COP26… and that is COP15.
COP15 is the UN Biodiversity Conference, the first part of which was held remotely earlier this month. The second part, an in-person summit, will be held in between 25 April – 8 May 2022 in Kunming, China.
The two-part UN Biodiversity Conference will seek to bring together governments from around the world to agree to a new set of goals for nature over the next decade through the Convention on Biological Diversity post-2020 framework process.
The first half of the meet saw the adoption of the Kunming Declaration, which commits to secure an effective post-2020 global biodiversity framework to reverse the current rate of biodiversity loss and ensure that biodiversity is put on a path to recovery by 2030. The framework will be further discussed next year.
Scientists say a million of the world’s estimated 8.7 million species are at risk of extinction, with Sir David Attenborough speaking frequently about the perils of allowing biodiversity loss to spiral out of control.
“Our natural world is under greater pressure now than at any time in human history, and the future of the entire planet – on which every single one of us depends – is in grave jeopardy. We still have an opportunity to reverse catastrophic biodiversity loss, but time is running out.”
– Sir David Attenborough
With biodiversity loss such a prominent issue, it is important that this vital summit is not overshadowed completely by COP26, but rather, elevates the same goals and aspirations of leaders worldwide: to save the planet.
