Postponed, split up and now in Canada: instead of China, the World Nature Summit will be held in Canada in December. The reason for the change of location is the ongoing pandemic situation in China.
The 15th World Summit on Nature, originally planned in China, will take place in Montreal, Canada, from December 5th to 17th. This was announced by the secretariat of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Nairobi on Tuesday.
In view of the ongoing pandemic situation in China, the decision was made to relocate, said CBD Executive Secretary Elizabeth Maruma Mrema at the opening of a UN conference on biodiversity. Preliminary negotiations on a new world agreement on nature are also taking place in the Kenyan capital.
A landmark global agreement is expected at the December summit. The COP-15 World Nature Summit was originally scheduled to take place in Kunming, China, in 2020 and was postponed due to the corona pandemic. The meeting was then divided into two parts, with the first part of the negotiations taking place in Kunming last October.
Lembke: Very good news
Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke welcomed the change of plan. “It is very good news that the 15th World Conference on Nature can now take place in Canada in December,” she told the German Press Agency. She hopes that Montreal will send “a strong signal from the international community in the fight against species extinction,” said the Green politician. The extinction of species is just as threatening for humanity as the climate crisis. “Resolute and swift action is now crucial.”
Canadian Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault also emphasized the urgent need for action on Tuesday. “With up to one million species threatened with extinction worldwide, the world cannot afford to wait any longer for global conservation action,” he said.
Florian Titze from WWF Germany called for an “effective, ambitious and well-financed global agreement, comparable to the Paris climate agreement”. It is “immensely important” that the conference takes place this year, he said.
At the current conference in Nairobi, content is also being prepared for the conference in Montreal. The focus is on sustainable nature conservation and national concepts as well as the role of nature in adapting to climate change. “The numbers are frightening,” Mrema said, given the pollution of the oceans and the loss of land quality. Biological diversity is essential for human life. The world cannot afford to wait and see. “We have no time. Species are disappearing.”
The German Nature Conservation Union (NABU) emphasized the importance of the conference in Nairobi and called for clear signals from the federal government. “It is about nothing less than preserving our livelihoods. A solution is urgently needed, especially when it comes to financing,” said NABU President Jörg-Andreas Krüger. “We appeal to the federal government to now increase the financial resources for the preservation and restoration of global biodiversity to at least two billion euros per year.”
Source: Stern
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
