EGP’s very own Ina Balik, climate professional and sustainability strategist, has been posting some fascinating thoughts about the climate crisis and biodiversity ahead of COP26. Opinions are the author’s own. You can find more from Ina via her LinkedIn feed.
Biological Diversity COP makes progress
21st October, 2021
The #CBDCOP15, the Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the biggest biodiversity conference in a decade just ended this Friday, 15th of Oct 2021, in Kunming, China. This major conference in China will have a big impact on our collective fate and can be seen as a prelude to set the scene for #COP26, the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, short #UNFCCC, that will be held in Glasgow, UK, from the 01st to 12th of Nov 2021. For reasons unknown to me, the CBD COP though has attracted less attention, which is hard to explain as the topics are of vital importance for humanity.
The CBD has three objectives:
- The conservation of biodiversity;
- The sustainable use of its components; and
- The fair sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources.
The notion of an international convention on biodiversity was conceived at a United Nations Environment Programme.
(UNEP) Ad Hoc Working Group of Experts on Biological Diversity in November 1988, so like the UNFCCC, the CBD has a longstanding tradition. The first CBD COP, COP 1, that was held in Nassau, Bahamas, in 1994.
It’s remarkable that All UN member states have ratified the treaty, with the exception of the United States. They’ve signed it, but not ratified it, nor – to date – announced any plans to do so…
What happened in Aichi
20th October, 2021
What happened in Aichi, JP, sadly stayed in Aichi ?
The Aichi Biodiversity Targets, spanning 5 strategic goals, were set in 2010; yet, despite the commitments made by governments in 2010 to take effective and urgent action to halt the loss of biodiversity to ensure resilient ecosystems by 2020, our efforts must pick up pace if we’re to survive the #biodiversitycrisis and the #climatecrisis. According to a UN report, the world failed on the Aichi targets for 2020. Only 6 out of 20 targets were partially achieved!
During the high-level segment of the #CBDCOP15 the #KunmingDeclaration was adopted, which may provide the political momentum to come up with a new framework to reach the 2030 targets for sustainable development and long-term 2050 vision of living in harmony with nature. The negotiations toward an ambitious and practical framework will continue in the first half of 2022. Other than the 1st phase of the COP that was held virtually, phase two will be an in-person meeting in Kunming, from 25 April to 8 May 2022.
Global Biodiversity Framework
19th October, 2021
The expected outcome of the most recent CBD COP15 is nothing less than a new plan to save life on Earth. That’s not a humble goal by any means. As the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity 2011-2020 comes to an end, we’re expecting the adaptation of the “Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework”. Despite the commitments made by governments in 2010 to take effective and urgent action to halt the loss of biodiversity to ensure resilient ecosystems by 2020, we must acknowledge that the worsening effects of #climatechange are making this an #uphillbattle.
According to WWF nearly three billion animals – 143 million mammals, 2.46 billion reptiles, 180 million birds, and 51 million frogs – were killed or displaced in Australia’s devastating 2019-20 bushfires – and that was only one single event. Add to that ocean acidification and warming that puts thermal stress on all life below water, and it becomes glaringly obvious that we’re doing a great job in decimating #LifeOnLand (SDG15) and #LifeBelowWater (SDG14). It’s not a question IF we can do better, we MUST do better!
COP26: Make it or Break It
18th October, 2021
Why do 2021/22 matter so much and why is this COP so highly anticipated? The UN Climate Change Conference (Conference Of the Parties, short COP) has happened every year since 1995 – so what makes COP26 so special and important?
All 196 signatory parties for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change #UNFCCC will come together in this 2-week summit in Glasgow to discuss the #climatecrisis on a global level. Whilst this 2-week climate summit is an annual event, which just suffered a 2020 forced pause due to the global pandemic, and other UN Conventions have COPs too, 2021/22 are VERY special. The UNFCCC is one of the 3 conventions that came out of the 1992 Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (collectively known as the Rio Conventions), and all these Conventions coincide to have their respective COPs in 2021/22:
- The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP15), which just ended on Fri, 15th of Oct 2021 (postponed from May ’21);
- The UNFCCC #COP26, which will be held from the 01st – 12th Nov 2021 (postponed from Nov ’20); and
- The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP15), which will be postponed and rescheduled between May and October 2022.
