The United Nations Conference on Biodiversity (COP15) concluded in Montreal, Canada, on 19 December 2022. The final day of negotiations saw the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), the agreement that will guide global action for nature until 2030.
The GBF aims to address biodiversity loss, restore ecosystems and protect the rights of indigenous peoples. The plan sets out concrete actions to halt and reverse nature loss, including protecting 30% of the planet and 30% of degraded ecosystems by 2030.
The agreement consists of four overarching global goals to protect nature, including:
- to halt human-induced extinctions of threatened species and to reduce the extinction rate tenfold for all species by 2050.
- sustainable use and management of biodiversity to ensure that nature's contribution to people is valued, maintained and enhanced.
- equitable sharing of benefits from the utilization of genetic resources and digital sequence information on genetic resources.
- that appropriate means to implement the GBF are available to all parties, especially least developed and small developing countries.
"This is a fantastic Christmas present for the whole world and it's great that politicians were able to agree despite some disagreements on the details of the agreement. However, the role of the business community in the green transition will not become less central, but needs to continue to lead the way for new technologies and ways of working to fulfill the Kunming-Montreal agreement, says Helena Granborg, Head of Strategy at Ecogain.
