Impact of the Fifteenth Conference of the Parties on Biodiversity (COP 15)
In December 2022, nearly 200 countries (not including the US) signed an agreement to curb the loss of the planet’s biodiversity.according to United Nations Environment Program (UNEP):
“The United Nations Biodiversity Conference (fifteenth meeting of the conference of the parties) ends on December 19, 2022 in Montreal, Canada landmark agreement Guiding global action for nature to 2030. Over the past two weeks, representatives from 188 governments have gathered in Montreal for a major summit… COP 15 adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) negotiations on the final day. GBF aims to address biodiversity loss, restore ecosystems and protect Indigenous rights. The plan includes concrete measures to halt and reverse nature loss, including bringing 30 percent of the planet and 30 percent of degraded ecosystems under protection by 2030. It also contains proposals to increase financing for developing countries – a major sticking point during the negotiations. “
When the meeting took place, I was struck by the lack of media attention and the contrast with the media circus surrounding the COP. It is remarkable that the issue of climate has received so much attention, and that it has become almost synonymous with the issue of environmental sustainability. Climate is a key issue, but frankly, it is no more serious threat than the loss of biodiversity or the presence of man-made toxic chemicals we release in the air, land and water. Climate change is easier to understand than other problems, and the solutions are relatively simple. The problem is that climate change mitigation will take a long time to implement due to the importance of energy to modern economic life. Other environmental issues also present economic trade-offs, but none seem as obvious and important as climate and energy. Yet the climate is far from the only environmental threat we face.
These U.N. meetings are valuable because they raise awareness of the issues they address, although few have been as high-profile as the COP. Despite the UN’s lack of authority, I worry about the expectations these meetings raise. As far as biodiversity is concerned, I also worry that this critical issue will be overlooked because it is not considered an “existential” threat to humanity, the label usually attached to climate change.as I wrote Last December:
“I always find it amusing to cover these meetings when journalists and delegates get together and pretend they are engaging and reporting on important areas of global decision-making. In fact, whatever agreement — if any — — neither could be enforced in a world of sovereign states. Any resemblance to operational reality is likely to be purely coincidental. Perhaps worse: no one seems to be paying attention. I know that when pressed, parties Many at the conference’s fifteenth session will concede that the true goals of the conference are far less compelling than the stated goals of preventing species extinction and preserving biodiversity. Like their older, more popular siblings, climate party conference, they hope to focus the world’s attention on a critical environmental issue. Their concern is not climate change, but ecological well-being. The United States will attend the meeting, but is not a party to the convention. Biodiversity and ecology are not at the center of global diplomacy or national policymaking. If this is a media extravaganza, it’s decidedly low-key. Biodiversity loss is nothing new, it has been brewing for centuries. “
Measuring biodiversity loss has yet to enter the political agenda, although the European Union and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission are enacting rules requiring companies to disclose their carbon emissions and climate risks. Still, some companies appear to be paying attention to their impact on biodiversity and are slowly taking action. This reminds me of the beginnings of ESG reporting about a decade ago.write on wall street journal last week, Joshua Kirby According to the report:
“Six months ago this week, nearly 200 countries signed the Montreal signs landmark deal to protect biodiversity. While mandatory reporting on nature may be a long way off, it makes good business sense for some companies to measure their impact on nature. Managing reputation, minimizing costs and ensuring their own survival is one of the reasons these first mover companies are getting a head start in analyzing and reporting on nature-related risks such as deforestation, pollution and over-farming. “
Mr. Kirby’s article points to a small effort by some companies to focus on these issues, particularly those that depend directly on a functioning ecosystem to produce products they sell, from tobacco to bourbon. One of the problems is the complexity of biodiversity impacts. Ecosystems are, by definition, highly interdependent, and the relationship between human impacts and changes in a range of specific ecosystems can be difficult to monitor and understand.according to Kirby:
“…Assessing the impact on the natural world is still trickier than measuring greenhouse gases. Emissions can be calculated in metric tons, and companies use sharing rules to enable comparisons between operations, even though Report still incomplete, based in part on estimates. Biodiversity impacts, on the other hand, remain a more nebulous concept, with widespread uncertainty about what to measure and how. “
The amount of financial resources devoted to ecology and biodiversity research falls far short of the scale needed to make substantive advances in scientific understanding. Funding for medical research dwarfs that for studying our natural environment. Current ecosystem measures need to be refined. We use species numbers and extinctions as a proxy measure of ecosystem health.If an organism is going extinct, we often think of this development as a sign that the ecosystem supporting the organism is in trouble, but we don’t always understand Why This is happening. Ecological relationships look more like a network of interconnections than a linear model of causality. In some ecosystems, data collection can be challenging, and the cost of on-site observation and analysis can be prohibitive. It is my hope that the use of drones, automation and artificial intelligence will reduce research costs and facilitate a faster understanding of threats to biodiversity.
the political challenges climate change early 21Yingshi century could increase our understanding of political importance biodiversity. The problem with climate change as a political issue back in 2000 was that it was difficult to directly experience cause and effect compared to issues like air and water pollution. The causes and effects of air pollution can be seen and smelled; you can usually tell where the dirty air is coming from and where it is going. In contrast, climate change is ubiquitous and its effects will not be felt until the future. For climate change, that future is already here, and everyone is experiencing the warmer world we live in now. Biodiversity loss may be too subtle for the casual observer to imagine. We can see when our old campgrounds were developed into strip malls. In this case, the loss of natural systems is obvious. But if the forests remain, the malls aren’t built, and the bird populations are cut in half, we might not see the damage done. Even when we notice bird losses, we don’t know what’s causing them.
Environmental problems of the twenty-first century, such as climate change and biodiversity loss, are less visible and localized than air, water, waste and toxic substances. Conferences like COP15 can increase visibility and improve understanding. But we need to remember that the agreement reached was largely symbolic. Real action is at the national, community and organizational levels. All changes are self-interest oriented. The key to successful environmental change is to justify enlightened self-interest and mobilize public resources to stimulate the profitable allocation of private capital to maintain and rebuild endangered ecosystems. Our wealth and well-being depend on a functioning ecosystem. After all, we are organic, living beings—part of, and not separate from, the natural world.
