CEO Statement: ‘At CBD-COP15, the future of all life on Earth is at stake’

The dust has barely settled on UN Climate Change Conference COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, and policymakers are already preparing to reconvene in Montreal for this year’s ‘other’ major COP – UN Biodiversity Conference CBD-COP15. Commenting ahead of the meeting, The Nature Conservancy’s CEO, Jennifer Morris, said:

“After two years of delays due to the pandemic, global leaders are poised to agree on both long- and short-term targets to halt and reverse unprecedented biodiversity loss via a Global Biodiversity Framework.

“Nations and negotiators must not miss this opportunity to establish an ambitious and durable new framework that charts a path towards a more nature-positive world. Healthy ecosystems underpin nearly every aspect of wellbeing and economic prosperity and there can be no lasting progress on the climate emergency without a simultaneous recovery of our planet’s ecological life-support systems.

“Science has exposed the dramatic decline in nature across our planet in the face of human-driven pressures like land conversion and habitat loss. And yet, resilient ecosystems represent a cornerstone of our survival strategy for the coming century – one that neither science nor the financial markets have yet to fully price into their projections for the decades of climate-driven turbulence ahead.

“CBD-COP15 presents us with the opportunity to turn this situation around by ratifying a transformational Framework that commits all parties to conserving at least 30% of their lands, inland waters, and ocean territory by 2030; formally codifies the role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities as custodians of nature; fully engages corporations and the financial sector; and includes strong provisions for the implementation and monitoring of conservation efforts.

“As we saw in Sharm with climate, bridging the current gulf in biodiversity funding – first highlighted by our Financing Nature report with Paulson Institute and Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability – will be a critical priority in Montreal. A few weeks ago, a 10-Point Plan was released providing a financial blueprint for nature’s recovery at a global level.

“People depend on nature for our survival, and nature depends on us. The Nature Conservancy joins its allies across the world in calling for COP15 Presidency China to ensure an outcome from CBD-COP15 that halts the biodiversity crisis and sets nature on the path to recovery.”

Alongside a powerful coalition of NGO partners, The Nature Conservancy will be hosting the Nature Positive Pavilion at UN Biodiversity Conference CBD-COP15 in Montreal. View our exciting schedule of events and access the livestream here. 

You can also access The Nature Conservancy's full guide to UN Biodiversity Conference CBD-COP15 and associated content here.