By Canadian Press

China to present biodiversity framework for approval at COP15 this morning

Dec 18, 2022 | 1:02 AM

MONTREAL — Chinese Environment Minister Huang Runqiu is expected to present the text of a new global agreement to protect nature at COP15 in Montreal this morning.

The final draft comes after nearly two weeks of negotiations among 196 nations who are part of the UN biodiversity convention seeking a new deal to halt the human destruction of nature and to begin to restore what has already been lost.

The United Nations says three-quarters of the world’s land has been altered by human activities and one million species face extinction this century as a result.

The nations still need to agree to the final wording of the text, which will be published at 8 a.m. local time just as most regional groups begin their morning meetings.

A closed-door plenary with environment ministers or their designated negotiators will take place at noon, where Huang will seek approval for what he hopes will become the final text.

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Heading in to the final hours of talks, something of a staring contest had broken out between developed and developing nations over whether a new dedicated biodiversity fund is the best way to flow new financing for conservation.

On Saturday morning German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke said both sides had moved a little toward a compromise but hadn’t yet moved far enough.

She noted, however, that Colombia presented a potential compromise to create a dedicated entity within the existing Global Environment Fund preferred by Europe and G7 countries, including Canada.

While that option had not yet been approved, both Huang and Canada’s Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault expressed confidence that a deal was within their grasp during a joint news conference Saturday afternoon.

China is officially the president of COP15 and as such oversees the negotiations. But the meeting itself was moved to Canada because of ongoing COVID-19 restrictions in China.

Montreal was the site chosen largely because the UN Biodiversity Convention secretariat is based there.

The move gave Canada more influence over the talks and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the country was clear when it agreed to host the event that China would have to help Canada push for a highly ambitious target.

That includes protecting 30 per cent of land and marine territories by 2030, which is what most developed countries are seeking. Guilbeault said this week that the financing requested by developing nations would only come about if a deal also aimed high with its ambitions. 

Guilbeault has been working multiple rooms trying to help bring the deal to fruition. He had bilateral meetings on Saturday with multiple ministers from both developed and developing nations.

Many have seen the Montreal nature talks as the chance to do for conservation what the Paris climate talks in 2015 did to spur action on climate change. Guilbeault said it is that kind of “bold agreement” that is needed.

“We did this in Paris, we can do it here in Montreal,” he said. “The entire world is watching. We have the power to change the course of history. Let’s give nature the Paris moment it deserves.”

The diplomatic tensions between Canada and China leading into COP15 had some observers worried the shared hosting duties may spell trouble, but Huang and Guilbeault were more than just cordial in their joint expressions of gratitude and confidence on Saturday.

Li Shuo, global policy adviser for Greenpeace East Asia, noted their alignment in a subsequent tweet.

“This is interesting given China and Canada don’t align on many issues these days,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 18, 2022.

– By Mia Rabson in Ottawa with files from Sidhartha Banerjee in Montreal.

The Canadian Press