Geneva Conference: how it ended

The Geneva conference, a key step towards COP 15, the Convention on Biological Diversity, in Kunming in China, ended yesterday in Switzerland. For fifteen days, delegates from nearly 200 countries met to discuss biodiversity and decide what to do to halt its progressive destruction. The meetings and preliminary negotiations towards COP15 nevertheless ended in a deadlock. There has been no concrete progress on the text of the agreement and the positions of the participating states still differ considerably on key points. China, the country where COP15 will be held, is aiming to reach a global agreement on nature that matches – in importance and strength – the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate. Negotiating on the protection of biodiversity, however, proved more challenging and difficult than dealing with greenhouse gas reductions, which is why the Chinese authorities have decided to postpone (for the fourth time) the final act. It is known that COP15 will be held in the autumn, but a precise date has not yet been set.

Given the absence of an agreed text, on which work has been under way since 2020 (remember that the pandemic has played a part in delaying the agreements), a further meeting has been scheduled in Nairobi, Kenya, from 21 to 26 June. Once again, it was decided to take more time, hoping to reach a satisfactory agreement that would bring everyone together. The key points to be negotiated will be the same: the goal of protecting at least 30% of land and water by 2030, which is difficult to translate into specific commitments in the text of the agreement, and the investments to be made to achieve the protection targets.

To find out more: Convention on Biological Biodiversity