An international agreement to save the ecosystems that support half of the global economy and stop the further extinction of already decimated plant and animal species was reached on Monday at a United Nations nature meeting.
The Chinese presidency and Canadian government, which played host, declared the deal confirmed even after Democratic Republic of Congo, the country with lush tracts of rainforest, protested the deal.
Following two weeks of discussions held in Montreal, Canada, the following are some of the major points that were reached.
Safeguard land and marine regions
By 2030, delegates agreed to safeguard 30% of land and 30% of coastal and marine regions, achieving the 30-by-30 aim, which is the deal’s most well-known objective. As several nations and campaigners campaigned for during the negotiations, indigenous and traditional areas will also count toward achieving this aim.
The agreement also aims to repair 30% of degraded lands and rivers over the course of the next ten years, up from the previous goal of 20%.
Additionally, efforts will be made to stop the destruction of unaltered landscapes and places with a variety of species, aiming to reduce these losses “near to zero by 2030.”
Businesses to report impacts on biodiversity
Businesses should evaluate and document how biodiversity issues are impacted by their operations. The parties approved “requirements” for big businesses and financial institutions to provide information about their operations, supply lines, and portfolios.
The goal of this reporting is to gradually enhance biodiversity, lessen the hazards that the natural world poses to industry, and promote sustainable production.
Identification of harmful subsidies
By 2025, the participating nations agreed to identify the subsidies that harm biodiversity and either remove, phase out, or reform them. By 2030, they resolved to reduce those incentives by at least $500 billion annually while boosting those that encourage conservation.
Pollution and pesticides
One of the more contentious goals of the agreement is to cut the usage of pesticides by as much as two-thirds. The final text, however, pledges to eliminate those concerns by “at least half” and instead emphasizes other methods of pest management. It concentrates on the risks related to pesticides and highly dangerous chemicals.
The Kunming-Montreal agreement will, in general, concentrate on lowering the adverse effects of pollution to levels that are not thought to be hazardous to nature, but the text offers no quantified aim in this regard.
Track future progress
To avoid this agreement having the same outcome as identical targets that were agreed upon in Aichi, Japan, in 2010, and never realized, all agreed-upon aims will be supported by procedures to track progress in the future.
