Several times during the last two years, LT&C has announced a new date when COP15 of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) should happen. The 30×30 biodiversity goal to protect by 2030 at least 30% of the global natural land- and marine space should have been decided already in 2020 by that UN gathering. The 30×30 goal is equally essential for our future as the climate goal of keeping the further warming under 1,5 degrees. In line with many nations, including the EU, and our partner, Campaign for Nature, LT&C is committed to the 30×30 goal. From its beginning, it has been the mission of LT&C to demonstrate that nature-based tourism can play a significant role in implementing the United Nations protected area goal. 

The German RiffReporter (which we can recommend to our German reading and biodiversity interested members) recently summarized the background of what they titled „Endless drama around UN summit on biodiversity loss: Another postponement, new location“

In order to update our international readers about the development of COP15 CBD, we herewith provide our own translation of the main paragraphs of RIffReporter’s findings:

Another setback for global environmental policy: The UN World Summit on Nature planned for summer 2022 will be postponed again. This was confirmed by the convention’s executive secretary, Elizabeth Mrema, in response to a question from RiffReporter on Tuesday at a biodiversity conference hosted by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development in Berlin.

„The August date is off the table,“ said Mrema, who as CBD executive secretary is the top United Nations official in charge of the conference. For the first time, Mrema also mentioned the possibility that the summit, which has already been postponed four times, could be held outside China. A date in early December is now under discussion. A decision should probably be made next week, he said. „The world needs to know where the conference will be held,“ Mrema said.

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With the postponement, the timetable for international environmental policy is once again thrown into disarray. Several attempts to hold the major UN biodiversity summit in China in 2020 and 2021 have already failed. At the meeting, global goals for nature conservation until 2030 are to be negotiated and decided. Conservation groups and many governments already see massive damage from the postponements: The later a framework agreement is adopted, the shorter the time for its effective implementation.

The reason for the new postponement is a disagreement between the United Nations and China, which was supposed to host the summit. The government in Beijing wants to continue hosting the summit in the designated city of Kunming, but, according to negotiators, is unable to guarantee that it will take place this year due to a series of new outbreaks of the coronavirus. Many states are now losing patience and want to push through an alternative location.

Besides Montreal as the seat of the convention, Nairobi and the UN city of Bonn are also being discussed as alternatives to Kunming.