UN conference in Canada reaches historical deal to protect nature

By Barry Ellsworth

TRENTON, Canada (AA) - A historical deal to protect 30% of the world's land and water by 2030 has been reached, officials at the UN biodiversity conference in Canada announced Monday.

More than 190 countries at the COP15 conference agreed to four goals and set 23 objectives – protect 30% of the world's land, water, and marine life and ante up $200 billion a year by 2030 to fund the targets.

In addition, at least $500 billion in subsidies identified as harming nature will be cut by 2030. Developing countries will be provided with $20 billion annually by 2025 to reach the goals, set to increase to $30 billion a year by 2030.

"Many of us wanted more things in the text and more ambition, but we got an ambitious package," Canada's Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault told reporters. "We have an agreement to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, to work on restoration, to reduce the use of pesticides. This is tremendous progress."

The conference was to have been held in China, but due to that country's COVID restrictions it was moved to Montreal.

The new agreement is labeled the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, reflecting the two official host cities in Canada and China. The deal was reached after almost two weeks of negotiations.

The UN has stated that three-quarters of the world's land has been changed by man and that one million species will be eradicated this century unless countries protect the balance and begin to restore what which has been damaged.

"We have in our hands a package which I think can guide us as we all work together to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and put biodiversity on the path to recovery for the benefit of all people in the world," Chinese Environment Minister Huang Runqiu told delegates, as reported by The Canadian Press.

Biodiversity is defined as the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat.