COP-15 Historical Deal of Convention on Biodiversity

Context

Recently concluded COP-15 of the Convention on Biodiversity has inked a historical deal to save the biodiversity of the earth.

Probable Question

How does biodiversity vary in India? How is the Biological Diversity Act 2002 helpful in the conservation of flora and fauna? (UPSC Mains 2018)

About the COP-15 Historic Deal

• Negotiators reached a historic deal at UN Biodiversity Conference that represents a significant effort to protect the world’s lands and oceans and provide critical financing to save biodiversity in the developing world.
• The framework was signed on the last day of COP-15 at Montreal which was presided over by China.

Key Features of COP-15 Historic Deal

30-by-30

• Delegates committed to protecting 30% of land and 30% of coastal and marine areas by 2030, fulfilling the deal’s highest-profile goal, known as 30-by-30.
• Indigenous and traditional territories will also count toward this goal, as many countries and campaigners pushed for during the talks.
• The deal also aspires to restore 30% of degraded lands and waters throughout the decade, up from an earlier aim of 20%.
• The world will strive to prevent destroying intact landscapes and areas with a lot of species, bringing those losses “close to zero by 2030”.

Money for nature

• Signatories aims to ensure $200 billion per year is channeled to conservation initiatives, from public and private sources. 
• Wealthier countries should contribute at least $20 billion of this every year by 2025, and at least $30 billion a year by 2030.

Big companies report impacts on biodiversity

• Companies should analyze and report how their operations affect and are affected by biodiversity issues. 
• The parties agreed to large companies and financial institutions being subject to “requirements” to make disclosures regarding their operations, supply chains and portfolios.
• This reporting is intended to progressively promote biodiversity, reduce the risks posed to businesses by the natural world, and encourage sustainable production.

Harmful subsidies

• Countries committed to identifying subsidies that deplete biodiversity by 2025, and then eliminate, phase out or reform them. 
• They agreed to slash those incentives by at least $500 billion a year by 2030, and increase incentives that are positive for conservation.

Pollution and pesticides

• The deal focuses on the risks associated with pesticides and highly hazardous chemicals, pledging to reduce those threats by “at least half”, and instead focusing on other forms of pest management.

Monitoring and reporting progress

• All the agreed aims will be supported by processes to monitor progress in the future, in a bid to prevent this agreement from meeting the same fate as similar targets that were agreed in Aichi, Japan, in 2010, and never met.
• National action plans will be set and reviewed, following a similar format used for greenhouse gas emissions under U.N.-led efforts to curb climate change.

News source: Indian Express

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-climate/30-by-30-key-takeaways-un-cop15-biodiversity-summit-8333204/

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