UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged member states of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity on Sunday to make “significant investments” in international funds dedicated to saving nature. The call was made during the opening ceremony of the 16th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, held in Cali under tight security.
In a video message on the eve of the negotiations, which will continue until November 1,Guterres emphasized the need to leave Cali with substantial investments in the funds for the Global Framework for Biological Diversity and commitments to mobilize other sources of public and private financing to fully implement it.
Guterres highlighted that “the destruction of nature fuels conflicts, hunger, and disease, exacerbates poverty and inequality, and feeds into the climate crisis, impairing sustainable development, green jobs, cultural heritage, and gross domestic product.”
He stressed that fulfilling the financial promises made and accelerating support for developing countries is crucial, as “the collapse of nature’s services, such as pollination and drinking water, could lead to an annual loss to the global economy estimated in the trillions of dollars, with the poorest countries suffering the most.”
The 16th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the Convention on Biological Diversity is the first international gathering since the adoption of an unprecedented roadmap for nature conservation during the last conference session in 2022. However, the implementation of this agreement, known as the Kunming-Montreal Global Framework for Biological Diversity, which includes ambitious goals for 2030, is not progressing rapidly enough.
