There’s still hope even though COP27 was disappointing
As I write this final column for 2022 and head into a much-deserved year-end break, I do so with mixed emotions about the future of human civilisation. The end result of COP27 was generally disappointing in my book.
Where many have applauded the creation of a loss and damage facility that will theoretically compensate developing countries for the financial costs stemming from climate-induced natural disasters, I, perhaps cynically, see this as resigning ourselves to paying for these disasters instead of taking the action required to avoid them.
On the other hand, I believe that the resurgent interest in fossil fuels off the back of spiralling energy costs in the global north will be short-lived and that current circumstances will only fuel the uptake of renewable energy.
The reality of forced shutdowns of nuclear, coal and hydropower plants across the US, Europe and China during this summer’s heatwave will prove compelling when it comes to policymakers looking to ensure domestic energy security. Not even President Vladimir Putin can shut off the sun or stop the wind from blowing.
I am similarly conflicted when it comes to my area of professional specialisation, that of nature-based solutions. On the one hand, COP27 was abuzz with ”events plan agreed focused at the summit on the topic, yet the “implementation merely repeated the language on nature used in the COP26 Glasgow pact last year, which was pretty wishy-washy to begin with. For all that sound and fury, the end result was underwhelming.
On the other hand, next week Montreal in Canada will play host to COP27’s little brother, the UN Biodiversity Conference from December 7 to 19 (COP15). The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is one of the three Rio conventions set up in 1992, alongside the UN
Framework Convention on Climate Change and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.
Where COP27 was a damp squib for meaningful development on nature and biodiversity, many see COP15 as having the potential to be the “Paris Moment for Nature”, as it is billed to finalise negotiations for a post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. This aims to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 and ensure that we live in harmony with nature by 2050.
This is no small feat. As previously mentioned in this column, the release of the 2022 Living Planet Report by the WWF shows there has been an average population decrease of 69% in monitored mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish around the globe since 1970, not to mention the similar decimation of the floral kingdom. Halting this juggernaut of environmental destruction will be a phenomenal undertaking with profound importance not only for nature but for our ability to navigate the climate crises.
Climate change is a key driver of biodiversity loss, while agriculture, forestry and other land use contribute almost a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions. Nature-based solutions also have the potential to provide a third of the solutions required to build systemic resilience to physical climate impacts.
The Chinese government, which has been presiding over the negotiations in the lead-up to Montreal, is optimistic about the outcome of the event as it feels there is basic consensus on biodiversity protection.
The targets tabled in the draft of the framework include conserving a minimum of 30% of the planet’s land and sea areas by 2030, and cutting the proliferation of invasive species by at least half by 2030.
Unlike the previous 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets agreed to by the CBD member states in Nagoya, Japan, in 2010, none of which was fully achieved, this new framework is supported by growing private sector awareness of the urgent need to shift the needle. Let us hope for all our sakes that it is not too little too late.