COP15: Can the biodiversity summit meet expectations?

The UN Convention on Biological Diversity's (CBD) summit on biodiversity, COP15, has now begun, and will be taking place from 7th December to 19th December 2023 in Montreal, Canada. The summit was originally scheduled to take place in 2020, but was significantly delayed, principally due to COVID-19. The summit will be tasked with negotiating a post-2020 framework for the global governance of the biodiversity crisis, as well as targets and other objectives under that framework.

What is COP15?

COP15 is a global summit for the parties to the UN’s Convention on Biological Diversity, which is its key environmental treaty for addressing biodiversity loss at a global level. Summits for the CBD are less frequent than for the equivalent climate change treaty, the UNFCCC, though no less important in securing positive environmental and social outcomes.

The summit being held now, COP15, is particularly important as it will be responsible for creating the post-2020 framework of targets and rules to address biodiversity loss. The first set of targets under the CBD, set out in 2010 in Aichi, Japan, were due to be met in 2020 and none were fully met. COP15 was scheduled to take place in line with the expiry of the first set of targets to negotiate a new series of targets and to advance action on biodiversity loss. As a result of delays, this work has not yet been completed.

COP15 is now tasked with creating what some commentators are referring to as a ‘Paris Agreement for nature’, creating an equivalent framework for global cooperation as the one that exists for the linked crisis of climate change. The ambition is to halt or reverse the decline of nature by 2030 at the latest.

What were the results of delays to holding COP15?

Originally, COP15 was due to be held in 2020 in Kunming, China. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the summit was delayed and scheduled to be held in two parts: one in October 2021 and one in spring 2022. These meetings were not successfully able to deliver an agreement, requiring further negotiations to be held. Talks were held in Kenya as a precursor to a final meeting due to be held in Kunming, though the latter had to be relocated to Montreal, Canada, due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions.

Final discussions are now taking place in Montreal with the expectation of some kind of agreement to follow. However, the delays to COP15 have not come without costs; for the past two years there has been a gap in the global framework for biodiversity. The 10-year targets set in 2010 in Aichi, Japan have not been met, and that failure has been compounded by two years of ambiguity, uncertain, and wavering ambitions. Without a renewed set of ambitions and drive for accountability and action, biodiversity loss has continued with little abatement.

In-depth: how can policy address biodiversity loss?

The UK Government and its international partners should seek to achieve transformative change by addressing the unsustainable systems which embed pressure on nature. Nature does not recognise political or national borders, so our approach must be global. The global community should agree a post-2020 framework which recognises the nature of interconnected systems and their potential for positive or negative effects on nature.

Click the sections below to see more recommendations from the IES.

How can we change our relationship with nature?

We require a paradigm shift in the way we think about the environment, towards a functional view that acknowledges that different ecosystems cannot be approached in isolation and that interventions will have repercussions beyond immediate spatial boundaries. Only by moving to proactive, regenerative actions based on systems thinking can we deliver the transformative change needed to meet climate ambitions, whilst restoring ecosystems and protecting biodiversity.

How can we take a systems approach to land use?

Our approach to land is a combination of a number of independent pressures: agriculture, planning, infrastructure, the conservation of nature, and other needs such as energy security. In the UK, each is covered by separate legislative and regulatory drivers, such as Local Nature Recovery Strategies, Environmental Land Management Schemes, and Biodiversity Net Gain.

We need a coordinated approach to how we use our limited land across those sub-systems and drivers. The Government announced a Land Use Framework in June 2022, though details are yet to be confirmed. Both the Food, Farming & Countryside Commission and Green Alliance have outlined how to make the most of the opportunity.

How can Local Authorities and planning processes help support nature?

To deliver on our goals, it is essential that nature is given a home in Local Authorities. Every Local Authority should employ ecologists as an essential component in delivering both ecosystem restoration and climate ambitions. To succeed, Local Authorities, which often bear the brunt of delivering environmental outcomes, must be properly resourced.

Equally, planning processes must be able to evaluate the environmental consequences of proposals at the design stage. Economic concerns considered in isolation cannot be an excuse to sidestep the mitigation hierarchy: we should avoid, minimise, restore and offset environmental harms wherever possible.

What do we need to see from global and national targets?

New global targets set at COP15 must significantly raise ambitions to realise the goal of halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030. They must also be achievable, as we cannot spend another decade pursuing targets which are not met. To that end, national targets aligning with the global framework must be put in place to drive action on the ground.

In particular, our targets must ensure transparency for businesses, helping consumers to make informed decisions and providing certainty to drive investment in nature. The targets must also address the systems of consumption and production driving environmental harm, with a clear vision for environmental enhancement that simultaneously addresses biodiversity loss, climate change, and the consequences of chemicals, waste, and pollution.

What next?

Over the next two weeks, COP15 will become the crucible through which the future of global action to address biodiversity loss is decided. The IES will be following the negotiations with interest and a view to the successful implementation of targets and plans. As we do so, the interdisciplinary perspectives of IES members will be a crucial part of the network of insights necessary to ensure better outcomes for humanity and the natural world.

Add your voice to the conversation by becoming a member of the IES, of if you support environmental science but don’t work in the environment sector, considering joining as an affiliate.

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