At the opening ceremony of the UN Biodiversity Conference in Cali, Colombia, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made a compelling plea for substantial investment in the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF).
Guterres emphasized the urgent need for \"significant investment\" to safeguard Earth's biodiversity, urging delegates to commit both public and private finances to the GBFF. Established last year, the GBFF aims to help nations meet the 23 targets outlined in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), which seeks to \"halt and reverse\" nature loss by 2030.
Despite the critical mission, current commitments to the fund have reached only $250 million, falling short of the broader agreement made in Montreal two years ago. This agreement calls for mobilizing at least $200 billion annually by 2030 for biodiversity, including $20 billion per year from affluent nations to support developing countries by 2025.
Highlighting the broader implications of biodiversity loss, Guterres warned that the destruction of nature exacerbates conflict, hunger, disease, and poverty while undermining global economies. \"A collapse in nature's services, such as pollination and clean water, would see the global economy lose trillions of dollars a year, with the poorest hardest hit,\" he stated.
The UN chief called for countries to honor their financial commitments and accelerate support to developing nations to prevent such dire outcomes. \"Those profiting from nature must contribute to its protection and restoration,\" Guterres added.
The 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is set to host around 12,000 delegates from nearly 200 countries, underscoring the global commitment needed to address biodiversity challenges.
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UN chief seeks 'significant' funding at summit to save nature
cgtn.com
