Historic Biodiversity Deal | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

Introduction

• The UN biodiversity summit in Montreal, Canada, has approved a groundbreaking agreement to safeguard biodiversity after more than four years of negotiations involving almost 200 countries. The deal includes 23 targets and 4 goals to prevent and reverse harmful losses to global biodiversity. One of the most important aspects of the agreement is a pledge to protect 30% of land and water by 2030, as currently, only 17% of terrestrial and 10% of marine areas are safeguarded.
• The targets also comprise reducing farming subsidies, minimizing pesticide risks, and combating invasive species. Additionally, the accord stipulates a gradual increase in financial resources from all sources by 2030, with a target of at least $200 billion per year. The agreement is being hailed as a landmark deal and is compared to the Paris Agreement, an international treaty on climate change that aims to limit global temperature increases to 1.5C.

About COP15:

• The UN Biodiversity Conference, also known as COP15, took place in Montreal in December, with the goal of addressing the worldwide decline of healthy, biodiverse ecosystems. Despite the value that nature provides, it is projected to continue deteriorating under current circumstances. 
• At COP15, a landmark agreement was reached to guide global actions on biodiversity through 2030. The framework includes a comprehensive plan that covers various sectors and addresses the primary causes of nature loss. The ultimate aim is to ensure that by 2050, the shared vision of living in harmony with nature is fully realized.

Key areas agreed

• Conservation, protection and restoration: The delegates have pledged to achieve the 30-by-30 goal by protecting 30% of land and coastal/marine areas, which will prevent species loss and bring it down to zero by 2030.
  • Money for nature: The signatories plan to ensure that conservation initiatives receive $200 billion annually from public and private sources, with at least $20 billion contributed by wealthier countries by 2025 and $30 billion by 2030.
  • Big companies report impacts on biodiversity: To promote biodiversity, reduce business risks, and encourage sustainable production, large companies and financial institutions must disclose their impacts on biodiversity. The parties have agreed to this requirement. By 2025, countries will identify subsidies that harm biodiversity, and then eliminate, phase out, or reform them.
• Pollution and pesticides: The agreement's emphasis is on reducing the negative impacts of pesticides and highly hazardous chemicals and decreasing pollution levels to a non-harmful state for the environment.
  • Monitoring and reporting progress: To avoid the same fate as the Aichi targets of 2010, the agreed goals will be monitored to measure progress. National action plans, modeled after those for GHG emissions under U.N-led climate change efforts, will be established and reviewed.

Emphasizing the Role of Finance

• During the COP15 discussions, finance took a prominent position as developed countries deliberated on how much financial support should be provided to address biodiversity loss in developing countries. To ensure the availability of adequate, predictable, and timely funds, a special trust fund, the GBF Fund, was proposed to be established by the Global Environment Facility. 
• A set of related agreements were also approved by the participating countries to implement the GBF, including planning, monitoring, reporting, and review. These agreements are critical to making progress and preventing further acceleration in the global rate of species extinction, which is already higher than the average over the past 10 million years.

Obstacles in Preserving Biodiversity:

• The use of GDP as the primary measure of development is a significant challenge in protecting biodiversity. GDP calculations do not account for the depreciation of natural assets caused by continuous resource extraction. 
• The UN's Inclusive Wealth (IW) report shows that although 135 countries had a higher inclusive wealth in 2014 than in 1990, the global GDP growth rate exceeded IW's growth rate by a significant margin.

Conclusion

It is crucial to recognize the importance of the environment and to assess "inclusive wealth," which takes into account not only financial and produced capital but also human, social, and natural capital.