The European Union (EU) has stressed the urgency of the “climate emergency and the consequences of mass biodiversity loss” in a resolution in advance of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The resolution “calls on the Commission and the Council to set a clear spending target for biodiversity mainstreaming of at least 10% in its Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2021-2027, in addition to the target for spending on climate mainstreaming.”
In the resolution of 16 January the EU Parliament calls for increased ambition in the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, which the CBD COP 15 is expected to adopt in October. The resolution calls for Europe to lead by example to address global biodiversity loss, noting with concern the findings of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Global Assessment on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, which “underlines the magnitude of the ecological crisis and the need for urgent and concerted efforts fostering transformation change” to tackle biodiversity loss and halt species extinctions. EU Parliamentarians also express deep concern on the impact of climate change in driving biodiversity loss, concluding the world is “facing an environmental emergency, which requires significant action.” They stress that COP 15 must agree on ambitious, legally binding targets, detailed timelines, performance indicators and reporting mechanisms to stop the current trajectory of biodiversity loss.
COP 15 must agree on ambitious, legally binding targets, detailed timelines, performance indicators and reporting mechanisms to stop the current trajectory of biodiversity loss.
The EU Parliament identifies the upcoming EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 as an opportunity to demonstrate European leadership on biodiversity. Parliamentarians support taking biodiversity objectives into account in all EU policies and earmarking a minimum of 10% of the EU’s 2021-2027 long-term budget towards efforts to improve biodiversity. Parliamentarians further call for ensuring that natural areas make up at least 30% of the EU territory; restoring degraded ecosystems by 2030, by restoring natural forests, peatlands, floodplains, wetlands, grasslands, and coastal zones and marine areas; and promoting more sustainable agricultural and forestry practices, including binding reduction targets on pesticide use in the EU. They also call on the European Commission (EC) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) to include biodiversity-proofing components in their financial instruments to avoid adverse impacts on biodiversity.
The resolution coincides with other steps the European Commission is taking towards implementing a European Green Deal. In her keynote speech to the World Economic Forum, the President of the European Commission Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen said that the European Union will mobilize EUR 1 trillion of investment that will “create a green investment wave.” [EU Press Release on EU COP 15 Position] [European Parliament Resolution] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on Green New Deal] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on EC Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on IPBES Assessment] [Keynote European Commission President Speech]