Draft COP15 agreement provides US$20 billion per year in aid to biodiversity

The draft agreement, proposed by China, which presides over the COP15 on biodiversity, was quickly celebrated by environmental organizations, although it still needs to be approved by the 196 signatories of the Convention on Biological Diversity before the summit ends on Monday (19).

“China will now have to defend the ambitions included in this document, bringing all undecided parties to the overwhelming global consensus that biodiversity loss is an urgent crisis that needs action now,” said Alfred DeGemmis of the Wildlife Conservation Society.

However, DeGemmis also warned that much of the text focuses too much on 2050 actions rather than more immediate achievements for 2030.

The question of how much money rich countries will give to the developing world, which is home to most of the biodiversity on the planet, has been the most controversial point.

Low-income nations point out that developed countries have grown rich by exploiting their resources and should therefore be paid to protect their own ecosystems.

Current aid to the developing world is about $10 billion a year. However, the ambition expressed by southern countries was 100 billion dollars.

Delegates are working on a historic agreement to reduce the destruction and pollution that threatens the extinction of about a million species of plants and animals, according to scientists.

The challenges for an agreement at COP15 on biodiversity

Delegates from almost 200 countries begin a conference on biodiversity, COP15, next week to try to reach a major global pact to preserve animal and plant species amid climate change. But the negotiations still present several divergent points. Find out the crucial objectives for reaching an agreement in Montreal.

(To AFP)

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