Governments appear to have signed a once-in-a-decade deal to halt the destruction of Earth’s ecosystems, but the agreement seems to have been forced through by the Chinese president, ignoring the objections of some African states. After more than four years of negotiations, repeated delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and talks into the night on Sunday in Montreal, nearly 200 countries – but not the US or the Vatican – signed an agreement at the biodiversity Cop15, which Canada and China co-hosted, to put humanity on a path to living in harmony with nature by the middle of the century.
Countries wrangled over the final agreement in an extraordinary plenary that began on Sunday evening and lasted for more than seven hours. Finally, at about 3.30 am local time on Monday, news broke that an agreement had been struck. The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s negotiator appeared to block the final deal presented by China, telling the plenary that he could not support the agreement in its current form because it did not create a new fund for biodiversity, separate from the existing UN fund, the global environment facility (GEF). China, Brazil, Indonesia, India, and Mexico are the largest recipients of GEF funding, and some African states wanted more money for conservation as part of the final deal. But shortly after, China’s environment minister and Cop15 chairman Huang Junqiu signaled that the deal was complete and agreed, and the plenary burst into applause.
Negotiators from Cameroon, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo expressed disbelief that a deal had been reached. The Democratic Republic of the Congo said it formally opposed the deal, but UN lawyers said otherwise. Cameroonian negotiators called it a “fraud” and Uganda would have a more affluent Cop15 population. He said there had been a “coup” against reaching 8 billion people. The deal, if implemented, has the potential to transform agriculture, corporate supply chains, and the role of indigenous communities in conservation. Negotiated over two weeks, the agreement includes a goal to protect 30% of the planet for nature by the end of the decade, a $500 billion pollution subsidy, and a goal to protect coastal and marine ecosystems. is included. Governments also agreed to take urgent action to halt the human-induced extinction of species known to be endangered and to accelerate their recovery. The deal comes with scientific warnings that humans are causing the sixth mass extinction on Earth, the biggest human loss since the age of the dinosaurs.
Former environmental activist and minister-turned-Canadian Stephen Guilbeau said the Kunming-Montreal deal was “a bold step in conservation.” “Exactly six months ago, we had no idea if we would be able to hold this conference, let alone adopt this historic document. And this is only possible with the cooperation of all the countries here tonight. was,” he said. Governments have not met the goals they set for nature in decades. The Montreal-Kunming Accord is the subject of a significant push to change years of failure, indifference, and environmental degradation. It has become
