UN Biodiversity Conference COP 15 kick off in Montreal, Canada

 By Erhirhie Julius Otadafe

The 2022 UN conference on biodiversity COP 15 kicked off in Montreal, Canada on Wednesday, with world leaders converging to delebrate on a number of issues to achieve a global action plan to save and protect the species and ecosystem on the planet.

Negotiators from across the world, are gathering in Canada for the second phase of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) from Dec. 7-19, where they will  try to adopt a new global biodiversity framework with ambitious goals and specific action targets to achieve a transformational change by the middle of the century.

With the opening ceremony held on Wednesday December 7, 2022, the international community "expects the adoption of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, and hopes to make COP15 an important moment to reverse the loss of global biodiversity," said Huang Runqiu, minister of ecology and environment of China, who is chairing the meeting.

Huang said in his opening remarks that the parties, international organizations and stakeholders are expected to demonstrate the spirit of cooperation, political determination, sincerity and flexibility in the meeting, build strong consensus, and actively seek compromise solutions on key issues.

He also encouraged the parties to make political commitments, continue to increase international financial input, and create favorable conditions for advancing the consultation process.

At a press briefing on Tuesday, Huang noted a few challenges in the negotiation. One of the challenges, Huang said, is to strike a balance between the three goals of the convention, which are, the preservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits.