The objective of protecting 30% of the planet was retained by the Chinese presidency of COP15 in the compromise it submitted to negotiators on Sunday, also proposing to reach at least 20 billion dollars in annual aid from rich countries to apply the biodiversity agreement. The negotiators of the members, 195 countries plus the European Union, of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) must approve by Monday, on the basis of the text of the presidency, a “pact of peace with nature” whose planet badly needs.
In an attempt to resolve the ever-burning financial issue between North and South, China proposes reaching “at least $20 billion” in annual international aid for biodiversity by 2025 and “at least $30 billion here 2030”, according to the draft agreement unveiled on Sunday.
Reassess aid from rich countries
The developing countries, Brazil, India and Indonesia in the lead, demanded an increase to 100 billion dollars a year in the aid paid by the rich countries for the protection of nature, currently estimated at between 7 and 10 billion euros. The countries of the South are also strongly pushing for the creation of a new separate global fund dedicated to biodiversity, like the one obtained in November at COP27 in Egypt to help them deal with climate damage. On this point, China is proposing a compromise: establish from 2023 a branch dedicated to biodiversity within the current Global Environment Facility (GEF), the current functioning of which is considered deficient by the least developed countries.
The resolution of the financial controversy between North and South calls for the adoption of an ambitious pact for nature, ardently demanded by defenders of the environment and indigenous peoples. In the draft agreement, China retains the proposal to place at least 30% of land and seas under a minimum level of protection, while admitting within protected areas a “sustainable” use of resources. This objective, a minimum for scientists who argue for at least 50% protection of the planet, has been presented as the biodiversity equivalent of the Paris objective of limiting global warming to 1.5°C. To date, 17% of the land and 8% of the seas are protected.