The European Union, co-organiser with the United Nations of an event to boost the ambition of world leaders in favour of biodiversity, on Tuesday 20 September in New York called on all countries (UNGA-77) to double their funding for nature and to secure agreement on an ambitious framework for biodiversity at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15, Montreal, 7-19 December).
With funding being the key issue in these stalled international negotiations (see EUROPE 12992/7), European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reiterated the EU’s commitment, made just a year ago, to double its international funding, particularly for the most vulnerable countries (see EUROPE 12797/10).
“I encourage all international donors to live up to the same level of ambition. This will not be easy. But we can do it. I call on all leaders to come together, to adopt an ambitious global deal to protect the biodiversity of our common home”, she said. And she emphasised the value, including the economic value, of nature.
“Biodiversity means human health, food security and resilience to climate change”, said Ms von der Leyen, stressing the need to halt its decline.
She noted that since UNGA-76 and the 2020 World Leaders’ Pledge for Nature (see EUROPE 12564/14), the EU has a legislative proposal on binding nature restoration targets (see EUROPE 12977/17) and another to reduce its contribution to global deforestation from commodity consumption (see EUROPE 13020/3).
“Europe is ready to aim high. But we have to do it together”, said Ms von der Leyen.
According to European Commission Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans, “We have to understand that looming ecocide and climate crisis are two sides of the same coin. There is no economic growth when we neglect the natural environment”. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)