The plan is surprisingly ambitious for observers: in the struggle for a new global agreement on nature, the Chinese presidency presented a far-reaching draft to the UN biodiversity conference in Montréal on Sunday. It adopts the goal of putting at least 30 percent of the earth’s land and sea under effective protection by 2030. In addition, 30 percent of the ecologically damaged ecosystems are to be renatured by 2030. With both proposals, China meets demands from the EU, among other things. Putting 30 percent of the earth under protection is considered the most important measure to stop the loss of species and ecosystems. In addition, developing countries should get more money.
The “presidency paper” is considered to be decisive for the outcome of the conference. Individual changes to the text are still possible. In principle, however, the member states are now faced with the choice of approving the draft or rejecting it. Unanimity is required to adopt a new “Global Framework Agreement on Biodiversity”.
However, the proposal leaves a loophole
The Chinese draft will be presented to the environment ministers of the 196 member states of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity for discussion and approval. A decision is not expected until Tuesday night.
The draft accommodates developing countries in terms of money and industrialized countries in terms of the level of protection. It is envisaged that the industrialized countries will pay the poorer but particularly species-rich countries of the Global South at least 20 billion US dollars per year until 2025 to finance nature conservation. This corresponds to a doubling of previous commitments. By 2025, this amount is expected to grow to at least $30 billion per year. Whether the sum is sufficient to persuade the developing countries to agree to the agreement remains to be seen. So far, they’ve been asking for $100 billion a year.
When it comes to the ecologically particularly important goal of reducing the use of environmentally harmful pesticides, China has adopted the goal of “reducing the overall risk from pesticides and highly hazardous chemicals by at least half”. However, the possibility of “integrated pest control” remains a loophole.