France at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP15) [fr]
The 15th United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP15), chaired by China, was held in Montreal, Canada from 7 to 19 December 2022. France, which was participating alongside the 195 other States Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, welcomes this unprecedented agreement on the protection of biodiversity.
This international event aimed to set targets to limit the decline in the biological diversity of ecosystems. France is aware of the threats biodiversity loss poses to our societies, and wanted this event to rally global support for nature.
France welcomes the adoption of a historic COP15 agreement
The 15th United Nations Biodiversity Conference aimed to enable the adoption of a new global biodiversity framework to set the main targets for 2050. This framework succeeds the Aichi Targets, adopted at COP10 in Nagoya in 2010.
In its first report in 2019, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) made some alarming findings on the state of ecosystems:
- One million species face extinction in the coming decades,
- 75% of the land-based environment has been altered by human actions,
- 50% of coral reefs have been lost since 1870.
These findings demonstrate the urgent need to reassess our relationship with nature and generate “transformative changes” in our societies.
It is believed that over 50% of global GDP depends on the proper functioning of nature. This includes benefits in several areas:
- Cleaning of air and water,
- Soil fertilization,
- Pollination,
- Protection from natural disasters,
- Mitigation of global warming through natural carbon sinks (forests, oceans).
All these ecosystem services must be better protected by the States Parties.
As for the climate, biodiversity negotiations are closely coordinated between all EU Member States and the European Commission.
Alongside its European partners, France worked to achieve an ambitious agreement. France is aware of the threats biodiversity loss poses to our societies, and wanted COP15 to rally global support for nature.
As was highlighted by Ms Catherine Colonna, French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, France has been working to meet this necessary level of ambition. It was committed to supporting a multilateral negotiating process leading to a fair and enforceable global agreement.
The text adopted under the Chinese Presidency proposed an implementation mechanism with regular reviews of the collective achievement of targets. It maintained the target, which was supported by France, to protect 30% of Earth’s lands and oceans by 2030 and aims to raise new financial flows to developing countries totalling $20 billion by 2025 and $30 billion by 2030.
Links between COP15 and COP27
The targets of the COP27 on climate, which took place in Egypt in November 2022, complement those of the COP15 on biodiversity. Global warming and biodiversity loss have mutual impacts. IPBES has identified global warming as one of the main pressures on biodiversity. Conversely, biodiversity loss speeds up global warming, as the deterioration of natural carbon sinks (forests, wetlands, oceans) reduces the global capacities to absorb our carbon emissions.
Since the climate and biodiversity are interdependent, France defends nature-based solutions, as defined by the United Nations Environment Assembly. This approach encourages development projects that promote the role of ecosystems in fighting global warming, such as the Great Green Wall Accelerator which promotes agroecology activities and the restoration of land in the Sahel-Saharan strip. France has also set the target of allocating 30% of its climate finance to projects with biodiversity co-benefits by 2025.
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