Is anyone following the biodiversity conference of the parties?
The United Nations is a talking society. Talk is always a better idea than war, so the UN plays a key role. Still, some conversations are more important than others. Currently, 15day The United Nations Conference of the Parties on Biodiversity (COP 15) is underway in Montreal. They’re trying to figure out what the other 14 biodiversity conferences they’ve hosted have failed to do: How can we reduce the massive species loss humans are wreaking on the planet?as Katrin Einhorn and Lauren Leatherby In last week’s report New York Times:
“Wildlife is disappearing All over the world, on sea and land. The main reason on land is perhaps the most straightforward: Humans have taken over too many places on Earth, erasing what existed before. Climate change and other pressures are making survival even harder. Nations will meet in Montreal this week and next to negotiate a new deal to tackle the alarming decline in biodiversity. The future of many species hangs in the balance. “
I always find the coverage of these meetings fascinating when journalists and delegates come together and pretend they are participating and reporting on the big stage of global decision-making. In fact, whatever agreement is reached – if any agreement is reached – cannot be enforced in the world of sovereign states. Any resemblance to actual operations is likely to be purely coincidental. Maybe worse: no one seems to be paying attention.
I know that, under pressure, many at COP15 will admit that the real goals of the meeting are far less compelling than the stated goals of preventing species extinction and maintaining biodiversity. Like their older and more popular sibling, the COP, they want to focus the world’s attention on a critical environmental issue. Their focus 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 event, it’s decidedly low-key. Biodiversity loss is not a new story, it has been around for centuries.according to einhorn and leatherby:
“While countries in the global South are currently experiencing the worst loss of biodiversity, Europe and the United States experienced their own severe declines hundreds of years ago… Now, as the Montreal negotiations progress, economically poor but biodiversity rich of countries argue that they need help from richer countries if they are to follow a different path. Overall, the financial needs are enormous: hundreds of billions of dollars are needed each year to help poorer countries develop and implement national biodiversity programs, which include actions such as establishing protected areas, restoring degraded land, and reforming harmful agricultural, fishing, and forestry practices; managing invasive species; and improving urban water quality. On the other hand, failure to address biodiversity loss has enormous financial risk.”
In some cases, climate and biodiversity goals overlap, as protecting natural areas helps reduce and absorb greenhouse gases. But the financial needs of the global South have plunged the COP on biodiversity and the COP on climate into an obscure competition for equally scarce financial resources. Biodiversity has long been losing out in this race. I think this may be because the biodiversity crisis is more complex and subtle than the climate crisis. Climate change is a relatively straightforward issue that is well known. Over the past quarter century, climate models have become more accurate because of a better understanding of the few key factors that affect climate change. In addition, predictions of the climate impacts of sea level rise and extreme weather events have proven accurate and widespread. We are all experiencing the effects of climate change. While the reactionary Florida governor only refers to climate science to deny it, he is still spending billions to build the resilience needed to adapt to climate change. He may not acknowledge the science of climate change, but he knows he has to deal with its effects.
While climate issues are relatively easy to internalize for non-theoreticians, biodiversity is not so easy to understand. The interconnections and relationships between elements of the biosphere in which we live are far more complex than climate change, and much less understood. We are learning more every day about the interdependence of species, but there is still a lot we don’t know. When we lose a species, it becomes a new scientific fact, and the relationship between that loss and other losses takes years of careful study to understand. The overall impact of large-scale biodiversity loss is still being studied, and more research is needed before we can truly address these issues. Furthermore, the knowledge we gain is not communicated effectively.
The climate crisis has led to the SEC’s proposed corporate carbon disclosure rules, but similar disclosure rules on ecosystem damage, risks, and impacts are not on the policy agenda. COP 27 has received a lot of global attention. COP 15 is a well-kept secret. Also, whoever planned COP 15 decided that December 7-19 would be a good time to hold a global conference in the beautiful but rather chilly city of Montreal. To make matters worse, it conflicts with the AGU (American Geophysical Union) annual meeting from December 12-16 — usually held in San Francisco, although this year it was held in Chicago. If you are wondering, AGU:
“fall session is the world’s most influential event dedicated to the advancement of Earth and space science. Per year, AGU Fall Meeting Bring together over 25,000 attendees from over 100 countries to share research and network. Researchers, scientists, educators, students, policymakers, enthusiasts, journalists and communicators attend the AGU Fall Meeting to better understand our planet and environment, and our role in protecting its future. It is a results-driven gathering, rooted in celebrating and advancing positive individual and collective outcomes. “
Not only are geoscientists likely to be absent, the only head of state attending COP 15 is the host, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Clearly climate experts hire better public relations teams than biodiversity teams. The COP15 Secretariat needs to hire a professional team skilled enough in event management to avoid conflicts with the holidays, AGU and the World Cup.
My Columbia Sustainability Students and My Columbia Colleagues climate The School is eager to attend COP 27 and is a visible participant in many of the events. Students applied for funding to help them travel to Egypt to attend the conference, and the Climate COP was a wonderful learning experience for many attendees. In contrast, no one at my university seemed to be going to Montreal, and even if they did, they didn’t talk about it.
I don’t mean to downplay the importance of climate change, as it is clearly an existential crisis for our planet. But biological threats, from COVID-19 to species extinction, are at least as dangerous. Part of the danger is that we don’t yet fully understand the implications of this threat.as einhorn and leatherby observed New York Times:
“Biodiversity, or all types of life on Earth – including plants, invertebrates and marine species – is being Rates unprecedented in human historyaccording to Leading Intergovernmental Scientific Group on this topic. The group’s projections suggest that 1 million species are threatened with extinction, many within decades. “
Unprecedented declines lead to unknown impacts. The 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity has been ratified by 196 countries, but not the United States. Maybe it’s time for our country to join in and pay more attention to these issues. Human domination of Earth will continue. Let’s hope it doesn’t lead to humans destroying the only planet we have, and the only one known to support human life.
