COP 15 starts tomorrow: What's at stake and why you should care

The conference will determine whether humans can halt, reverse nature loss through 2030

From tomorrow through December 17, delegates representing 196 nations will gather for the 15th annual UN biodiversity summit in Montreal, Canada to set new goals for nature over the next decade and beyond, in an unprecedented effort to tackle global biodiversity losses. Difficult negotiations are expected, as many see this conference as the 'Paris Agreement' on biodiversity, and an unmissable chance to safeguard our natural world. 

What's at stake

Just as COP27 in Sharm el Sheikh two weeks ago was seen as a last-ditch effort to try and limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, this UN Conference on Biodiversity (CBD, for short) is seen as a last chance to halt, and potentially reverse global biodiversity loss. 

Global biodiversity losses are happening at an unprecedented rate. In 2019, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) issued its own dire warning that "nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history". The rate of species extinctions is accelerating, with grave impacts on people around the world. More than one million animal and plant species are threatened with extinction, more than at any other point in human history. Similarly, WWF's Living Planet Report found that wildlife populations have plummeted by 69% since 1970.

Nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in history

Why it matters

In short, we are inextricably dependent on Earth's natural systems for our survival. We all depend on the services nature provides, for food, water, soil nutrients, medicines and materials. An estimated $44 trillion, approximately half the world's GDP, is threatened by the depletion of our natural resources, according to the UNCCD. Just the loss of pollinator species threatens $577 billion worth of global crop production. Losing biodiversity means losing the natural resources we rely on as humans.

And while world leaders are finally galvanizing around global efforts to tackle climate change, it's becoming clearer that biodiversity loss and climate change are compounding one another. One in ten species is likely to face a very high risk of extinction at 2C of global warming. Research also shows that climate change could become the biggest risk facing biodiversity later this century. This means that although humans' impacts on land remain the chief driver of biodiversity loss, climate change is playing an increasingly greater role. 

COP 15 has the potential of bringing biodiversity at the forefront of our global sustainability efforts, on par with climate change. 

What COP 15 hopes to achieve

This year's conference will aim to set out new goals for nature, stemming from the Convention on Biological Diversity post-2020 global diversity framework. This framework has been compared to a 'Paris Agreement' for nature. Essentially, it aims to reverse biodiversity loss globally in the same decade that the Paris Agreement sets out to halve global emissions from 2020-2030.

It's been over a decade since the international community has come together to set goals for biodiversity. The last time was in Japan in 2010, where roughly 200 countries formally adopted the UN's strategic plan for biodiversity 2011-2020, which included the 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets.

The Aichi targets included targets of halving the loss of natural habitats, eliminating subsidies that are harmful to biodiversity, and expanding nature reserves to 17% of the world's land areas and 10% of marine areas. However, in 2020 a CBD report found that governments had collectively failed to meet even a single one of these targets.

COP 15 will strive to improve upon those previous targets, setting out more actionable outcomes, which include 21 targets and 10 milestones for how to half biodiversity loss by 2030, an route to the overall goal of living in harmony with nature by 2050.

One of the most significant targets in the post-2020 framework is Target 3, which calls on nation states to conserve 30% of land and marine areas through "equitably managed, ecologically representative and well-connected systems of protected areas". 

Why COP 15 matters for business

Biodiversity is vitally important for maintaining the resiliency of ecosystems and fundamental for our survival. The loss, of biodiversity presents numerous direct and indirect risks to businesses across sectors, as virtually all businesses rely on nature's services in one way or another.

It's also no secret that businesses create impacts on nature and generally contribute to major drivers of biodiversity loss; our linear economy is based around a 'take make waste' approach that is incompatible with the sustainable use of natural resources.

When it comes to the E in ESG, climate concerns have dominated ESG discussions and disclosures. But now, more and more organizations are picking up the signal that nature losses poses major risks to business. The science-based Taskforce on Nature Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) recently released a draft framework that will enable companies and financial institutions to integrate nature into decision-making. Expect this framework to take on more weight, akin to the TCFD in the coming years.

No matter your background or business, the implications of continued biodiversity loss severe and affect us all. There is little room for error as negotiations are set to begin tomorrow. In the words of Marco Libertini, Director-General for WWF International, "Failure in Montreal is not an option".