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Beware human rights abuses in name of conservation, warns indigenous activist – live Beware human rights abuses in name of conservation, warns indigenous activist – live
(32 minutes later)
Indigenous rights, the need for green Covid recovery plans and a Marshall plan for nature raised by leaders in summit’s opening remarksIndigenous rights, the need for green Covid recovery plans and a Marshall plan for nature raised by leaders in summit’s opening remarks
Brazilian foreign minister Ernesto Araújo – who has previously dismissed the climate crisis as a Marxist plot – had been listed to represent his country in the place of president Jair Bolsonaro but the South American leader will now speak. Governments will listen to what the Brazilian leader has to say with great interest as his stance on the environment could have a major sway over the final Kunming agreement.
Brazil has traditionally been a major player in UN environmental circles through its impressive diplomatic machine. But under Bolsonaro, the Amazon rainforest continues to burn and many fear Brazil’s leader is steering his country towards environmental ruin.
Last week the president hit back at the UN general assembly for a second year in a row about how the Amazon has been treated under his leadership, claiming Brazil was the target of a “brutal disinformation campaign”.
Greenpeace has created ice sculptures of presidents Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro to expose the urgency of the nature crisis and the failure of both administrations to address the issue. Activists placed the sculptures on the pier facing the UN building where the meeting would have taken place.
The message reads; “Faces of Extinction: Fuelling a planet in crisis”.
“Trump and Bolsonaro administrations are the faces of extinction as they are pushing radical agendas that are destroying nature, driving biodiversity collapse and exacerbating the climate emergency,” said Arlo Hemphill, oceans campaigner at Greenpeace US.
Jair Bolsonaro will address the summit shortly.
The presidents of Colombia and Peru have just given statements to the summit. Both are major players in UN biodiversity circles and signatories to the Leaders’ Pledge on Nature, which over 70 governments and heads of state backed before today’s talks.
Colombian leader Iván Duque urges other countries to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030, embrace nature based solutions and make changes in the industries that have the biggest economic impact.
“That is the challenge of our age,” he concludes.
Peruvian president Martín Vizcarra Cornejo echos calls from other leaders for multilateralism and cites several local examples of how Peru has taken action to protect its biodiversity.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan makes a pointed remark about being at the “forefront” of fighting climate change, despite his country bearing “negligible responsibility for historical emissions”. He also says Turkey is working on a biodiversity “roadmap” to to 2050 without giving concrete promises about what landmarks will be involved.Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan makes a pointed remark about being at the “forefront” of fighting climate change, despite his country bearing “negligible responsibility for historical emissions”. He also says Turkey is working on a biodiversity “roadmap” to to 2050 without giving concrete promises about what landmarks will be involved.
Polish president Andrzej Duda boasts about the country’s “centuries-old heritage of nature conservation”, saying the wealth of the country’s forests – which cover 40% of its landmass – have been “preserved and multiplied”. He says protection of biodiversity is “one of the biggest challenges for civilisation” and talks passionately about the size of the country’s bison population.Polish president Andrzej Duda boasts about the country’s “centuries-old heritage of nature conservation”, saying the wealth of the country’s forests – which cover 40% of its landmass – have been “preserved and multiplied”. He says protection of biodiversity is “one of the biggest challenges for civilisation” and talks passionately about the size of the country’s bison population.
Guardian columnist George Monbiot has written about the UN summit and the biodiversity pledges by world leaders.Guardian columnist George Monbiot has written about the UN summit and the biodiversity pledges by world leaders.
Read the full piece here.Read the full piece here.
French president Emmanuel Macron has given the pick of the early statements. He says that environmental agreements must be coherent. He cites the example of the European Union not signing a trade deal with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay - the bloc known as Mercosur - over fears it would cause more deforestation in the Amazon. He says that 2021 must be “a year of action”.French president Emmanuel Macron has given the pick of the early statements. He says that environmental agreements must be coherent. He cites the example of the European Union not signing a trade deal with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay - the bloc known as Mercosur - over fears it would cause more deforestation in the Amazon. He says that 2021 must be “a year of action”.
Before that, Malawian president Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera spoke on behalf of the Least Developed Countries group. He expressed his dissatisfaction at the world’s failure to meet any of the previous decade’s biodiversity targets and called for more financial resources and technological support for conservation efforts.Before that, Malawian president Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera spoke on behalf of the Least Developed Countries group. He expressed his dissatisfaction at the world’s failure to meet any of the previous decade’s biodiversity targets and called for more financial resources and technological support for conservation efforts.
The president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen reaffirmed her commitment to the Kunming process.The president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen reaffirmed her commitment to the Kunming process.
Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is up next.Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is up next.
For all the talk about the importance of this summit, the secretary general António Guterres left because he had prior engagements.For all the talk about the importance of this summit, the secretary general António Guterres left because he had prior engagements.
More than 130 organisations including Friends of the Earth International, Survival International and Indigenous Environmental Network have signed a letter criticising the biodiversity summit for not representing communities who are most affected by the destruction of nature and who also play an important role in preserving it.More than 130 organisations including Friends of the Earth International, Survival International and Indigenous Environmental Network have signed a letter criticising the biodiversity summit for not representing communities who are most affected by the destruction of nature and who also play an important role in preserving it.
The letter, from the CBD Alliance, says indigenous people, local communities, women, youth, indigenous farming systems and small-scale food producers are not adequately represented at the summit. It criticises the UN for providing a a prominent role to corporations and financial actors who are responsible for biodiversity destruction.The letter, from the CBD Alliance, says indigenous people, local communities, women, youth, indigenous farming systems and small-scale food producers are not adequately represented at the summit. It criticises the UN for providing a a prominent role to corporations and financial actors who are responsible for biodiversity destruction.
The letter states:The letter states:
Statements by world leaders and governments have just started with the Guyanese president Mohamed Irfaan Ali.Statements by world leaders and governments have just started with the Guyanese president Mohamed Irfaan Ali.
The president of the 75th UN general assembly, Volkan Bozkır, tells the summit that world leaders have not stuck to the time limits on pre-recorded statements about biodiversity and as such, there won’t be time to play them all.The president of the 75th UN general assembly, Volkan Bozkır, tells the summit that world leaders have not stuck to the time limits on pre-recorded statements about biodiversity and as such, there won’t be time to play them all.
We will bring you the highlights.We will bring you the highlights.
Protecting at least 30% of land and sea is the headline target of the draft Kunming agreement for the next decade’s biodiversity targets. But Indian indigenous youth activist Archana Soreng has warned that it could be the “biggest land grab in history”.Protecting at least 30% of land and sea is the headline target of the draft Kunming agreement for the next decade’s biodiversity targets. But Indian indigenous youth activist Archana Soreng has warned that it could be the “biggest land grab in history”.
Removing indigenous communities from their land to protect nature is “colonial and environmentally damaging”, the member of the Khadia tribe continues, warning that human rights could be abused en masse in the name of conservation if world leaders are not careful with how the implement protections.Removing indigenous communities from their land to protect nature is “colonial and environmentally damaging”, the member of the Khadia tribe continues, warning that human rights could be abused en masse in the name of conservation if world leaders are not careful with how the implement protections.
Here is an infographic of a recent study about increasing protected areas.Here is an infographic of a recent study about increasing protected areas.
Prince Charles is speaking as we get towards the end of the introduction, telling the summit he was immensely flattered to be invited. The Prince’s comments are focused on what he calls a “blue-green recovery”, talking of an urgent need to embrace circular economics with a Marshall plan for nature. Establishing functioning carbon markets, developing carbon capture and storage, and creating a market for ecosystem services are all key, he says.Prince Charles is speaking as we get towards the end of the introduction, telling the summit he was immensely flattered to be invited. The Prince’s comments are focused on what he calls a “blue-green recovery”, talking of an urgent need to embrace circular economics with a Marshall plan for nature. Establishing functioning carbon markets, developing carbon capture and storage, and creating a market for ecosystem services are all key, he says.
“We are at the last hour. We know what we need to do. Let’s get on with it,” the Prince concludes.“We are at the last hour. We know what we need to do. Let’s get on with it,” the Prince concludes.
Check out that bookcase.Check out that bookcase.
A ‘fireside chat’ (without a fire) is taking place between the UN biodiversity head Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, UN environment head Inger Andersen and IPBES chair Ana María Hernández Salgar.
IPBES is the biodiversity equivalent of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), informing the political process on global negotiations. Ana María Hernández Salgar says that governments, the private sector, academia and industry must come together on responding the biodiversity crisis.
“We have to learn to embrace a different vision of what a good life is,” she says.
Elizabeth Maruma Mrema underscores that progress has been made in some countries on biodiversity around the world and that there is lots of evidence that conservation works, preventing some extinctions.
Inger Andersen says “there was a time we thought we could pollute our way to wealth” but that is now over.
Ahead of the summit, more than 70 world leaders announced a 10-point plan – the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature – to halt the destruction of biodiversity on Earth. The commitments include a renewed effort to reduce deforestation, halt unsustainable fishing practices, eliminate environmentally harmful subsidies and begin the transition to sustainable food production systems and a circular economy over the next decade.
The Leaders’ Pledge for Nature is NOT the UN biodiversity agreement that countries are negotiating for the Kunming process. While Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel, Justin Trudeau, Jacinda Ardern and Boris Johnson all backed the commitments, key leaders like Xi Jingping, Jair Bolsonaro, Scott Morrison and Vladimir Putin have so far kept their pens in their pockets. That said, the declaration might encourage countries to agree a more ambitious set of UN targets for next decade.
But as environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg points out, we have been here before.
Unlike last week, Chinese president Xi Jinping has not made another major announcement on the environment.
“Little by little, grains of soil pile up to make a mountain,” he tells the summit, encouraging world leaders to strike a bold international agreement on biodiversity next year in Kunming at COP15.
The Chinese leader highlights the accelerated extinction of species around the world that poses a risk to human survival and development. He tells the summit that humanity must aim to turn the planet into a “beautiful homeland”.
“We need to respect nature, follow its laws and protect it,” Xi continues, balancing development while upholding multilateralism as “passengers in the same boat”.
As the host country of COP15, Xi Jinping tells world leaders that China stands ready to share its experience of protecting biodiversity and says the goal of the Kunming agreement is to seek modernisation alongside harmony with nature.
The Chinese leader concludes by mentioning last week’s commitments to reducing future carbon emissions and the pledge to reach carbon neutrality before 2060.
In a pre-recorded statement, Egyptian president Mohammed Al-Sisi tells the summit “we have to stress the link between biodiversity and sustainable development”. At COP14 in Egypt, governments began the process of negotiating the biodiversity targets for the 2020s. Last decade, the world failed to meet a single one of the targets agreed in Aichi in 2010. Covid-19 has strengthened our shared responsibility to the planet and future generations, he concludes.
Xi Jinping is about to speak.
Munir Akram, President of the Economic and Social Council, is addressing the summit right now, calling for a re-imagination of GDP and nature’s role in human wealth.
Egyptian president Mohammed Al-Sisi, who was host of the biodiversity COP14, is up next.
UN secretary-general António Guterres continues the sombre tone of the summit’s opening, outlining the poor state of life on Earth.
“Humanity is waging war on nature”, he declares, underscoring the importance of protecting biodiversity to the Paris agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. Guterres links biodiversity to human health, livelihoods and economies.
Guterres says there are three priorities for governments to aid the recovery of the natural world. First, nature-based solutions must be in all Covid-19 economic recovery plans for governments, investing in forests, wetlands and oceans. Second, nature must be included in a country’s measure of its own wealth, he says. Biodiversity must be a criterium in financial decision making, helping financiers to shift from the destruction to the recovery of nature, Guterres tells world leaders. Third, the world must agree ambitious targets to protect biodiversity through the Kunming agreement that will be signed in China later next year.
Read more about those draft targets here.
China is leading global talks on a major UN environment agreement for the first time with negotiations on biodiversity targets for the next decade. Today’s summit was meant to be the moment that world leaders gave their input before negotiators headed to Kunming to thrash out the “Paris agreement for nature”. The pandemic has delayed proceedings but repeated warnings linking the pandemic with the destruction of ecosystems and species appears to have focused minds at the highest level.
Some privately suspect that president Xi Jinping will surprise world leaders with another major environmental commitment during his speech at the summit’s opening, just days after he ramped up China’s carbon commitments by pledging to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. He will address world leaders in the next hour or so.
Ahead of today’s summit, Sir Robert Watson, former chair of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), which informs the UN biodiversity negotiations with the latest science, told me China’s role is “absolutely critical”.
Read his full comments below.
Volkan Bozkır begins the summit with a grim summary of the state of nature on planet Earth, underlining the link between zoonotic diseases and biodiversity loss.
“Clearly, we must heed the lessons we have learned and respect the world in which we live,” he says, calling for “urgent action” from world leaders. He tells the summit that so many presidents and prime ministers wanted to speak today that he has organised two spillover events so all the messages can be heard.
Secretary general António Guterres is up next. Then, the Chinese president Xi Jinping.
Talks are just about to begin. If you would like to watch along, follow the link below. The president of the 75th UN general assembly, Volkan Bozkır, will get us started.
Good afternoon, I’m Patrick Greenfield, a biodiversity and environment reporter at the Guardian. Alongside my colleague Phoebe Weston, I’ll be live blogging proceedings from a first-of-its-kind summit at the UN in New York, where world leaders will discuss the rampant destruction of the natural world.
The talks come as the international community negotiates a set of biodiversity targets for the next decade, which the UN’s biodiversity head Elizabeth Maruma Mrema has called humanity’s last chance to reset its relationship with nature. Last decade, the world failed to meet a single target set at previous talks.
Xi Jinping, Jair Bolsonaro, Boris Johnson, Angela Merkel and Jacinda Ardern are among more than a hundred prime ministers and presidents who will address the event. We’ll guide you through proceedings that will begin at 10am EST (3pm BST) with an address from the president of the 75th UN general assembly, Volkan Bozkır.
As well as reporting on the discussions and speeches from world leaders, we will bring you expert reaction and analysis from scientists and campaigners. Please post questions in the comment section below or tweet us at @pgreenfielduk or @phoeb0. We’ll try to get to as many of your questions as possible but we can’t promise we’ll answer everyone.
Here is the agenda:
10:00-10:50 EST (3pm BST): UN secretary general António Guterres, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, Chinese president Xi Jinping and Prince Charles are among the many dignitaries that will make statements to open the summit.
10:50-13:00 EST (3:50pm BST): World leaders including Emmanuel Macron, Muhammadu Buhari and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will make statements to the assembly.
15:00-16:15 EST (8pm BST): Leaders dialogue chaired by Angela Merkel and Imran Khan on addressing biodiversity loss and mainstreaming biodiversity for sustainable development.
16:15-17:30 EST (9:15 BST): Swedish deputy prime minister Isabella Lövin will then host a dialogue on harnessing science, technology and innovation for biodiversity with industry heads.
17:30-18:00 EST (10:30pm BST): Closing segment.
The international politics of biodiversity are complicated. If you want to know more about what to look out for in today’s summit, please read my explainer.
For hundreds of thousands of species threatened by extinction, the stakes of this summit could not be higher. Vast expanses of life-sustaining ecosystems that undermine the fabric of human civilisation are disappearing and this month, the drumbeat of studies and reports highlighting humanity’s destruction of nature is growing louder and louder. Around a million species are at risk of extinction, driven by deforestation, pollution, agriculture and the climate crisis. On average, global populations of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles plunged by 68% between 1970 and 2016, according to ZSL and WWF analysis.
We’ll let you know what world leaders plan to do about it throughout the day.