UN deal calls for global biodiversity aid to rise to $27b by 2025

MONTREAL - A draft United Nations deal to save nature has called on rich countries to increase financial aid to the developing world to US$20 billion (S$27 billion) annually by 2025, rising to US$30 billion per year by 2030, documents showed on Sunday.

It also called on countries to “ensure and enable that by 2030 at least 30 per cent of terrestrial, inland water, and coastal and marine areas” are effectively conserved and managed. The target, informally known as 30-by-30, has come to be seen as a landmark goal for efforts to protect nature.

However, the target does not contain a global goal and makes limited mention of the ocean, which could leave international waters unprotected.

The compromise text, brokered by China which is presiding over a summit called COP15 in Montreal, was quickly welcomed by conservationists, though it still needs to be agreed upon by the 196 signatories to the Convention on Biological Diversity before it is finalised.

The text “demonstrates that China is ready to lead a ‘race to the top’, building on the ambition expressed by parties during COP15”, said Mr Alfred DeGemmis, of Wildlife Conservation Society.

“China will now need to defend the ambition contained in this document, bringing any hesitant parties on board with the overwhelming global consensus that biodiversity loss is an urgent crisis that needs immediate action.”

Mr DeGemmis also cautioned, however, that much of the text was too focused on action by 2050, as opposed to more immediate achievements by 2030.

The issue of how much money rich countries will send to the developing world, home to most of the planet’s biodiversity, has been the biggest sticking point.

Lower-income nations point out that developed countries grew rich by exploiting their resources and, therefore, they should be paid to protect their own ecosystems.

Current financial flows to the developing world are estimated at around US$10 billion per year.

The document also does not specify whether harmful subsidies should be eliminated, phased out or reformed, but it does suggest that they should be reduced by at least US$500 billion per year by the decade’s end.

Other proposed instructions include directing policymakers to “encourage and enable” businesses to monitor, assess and disclose how they affect and are affected by biodiversity, but does not say these processes should be mandatory.

Lastly, the text does not address slashing the use of pesticides, but it does say that the risks from pesticides and highly hazardous chemicals should be reduced by at least half.

Delegates are working to roll back the destruction and pollution that threaten an estimated one million plant and animal species with extinction, according to scientists that report to the UN.

Ministers from 196 governments now need to hammer out the details by Monday. Policymakers hope this can provide a framework to conserve nature through 2030 similar to that which began with an international pact to limit planet-warming carbon emissions struck in Paris in 2015.

The talks that started on Dec 7 had appeared to be on the verge of breakdown when developing countries walked out days ago over the question of funding. But the mood among leaders turned upbeat on Saturday.

“I am greatly confident that we can... keep our ambitions as well as achieve consensus,” China’s Environment Minister Huang Runqiu told reporters in Montreal before the draft text was released.

Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron posted on Twitter: “Let’s work together to achieve the most ambitious agreement possible. The world is depending on it.” AFP, REUTERS