'Targets are just words without concrete actions': UN Environment chief on COP16
Inger Andersen, head of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), arrived in Colombia on Thursday. She met with the Minister of the Environment and President of COP16, Susana Muhamad, negotiators from several countries and experts from several organizations, and began a journey that is already very common in these meetings: to ask the world to be ambitious in its commitments to protect nature and address the triple planetary crisis.
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The head of the United Nations Environment Division spoke to EL TIEMPO and praised the work of Colombia and Brazil in focusing the agenda of the region and the world on the environment, which requires not only urgency but also effective action. He also recognized the projects that have been carried out in Colombia, such as one in Barranquilla, and insisted that now is the time to act for nature.
Why is it important for a mega-diverse country like Colombia to host a COP on biodiversity?
Biodiversity connects us all. It is the foundation of everything we know. It is therefore very important that a country like Colombia, the second most biodiverse country in the world and home to almost 10% of the planet’s biodiversity, is hosting COP16 because it truly understands the importance of conserving, protecting and restoring nature. This is also a great moment for the region and the Global South, which is home to all but two of the 17 megadiverse countries. These countries are at the forefront of ambition and action on biodiversity, and COP16 will be a platform for them to show this to the world. Given the deep understanding and protection of biodiversity that surrounds Colombians, it is no wonder that Colombia is championing the vital link between nature and people in Cali. COP16 will be the «People’s COP» and will put indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants, youth and other groups at the center of the COP, a commitment that we at UNEP are pleased to see.
This is a COP to assess what we have achieved following the Kunming-Montreal Accord, how does UNEP see the progress made by countries so far?
Of course this is a challenging timetable, we knew that when we set it in Montreal for 2022. Many countries, around 60, have already submitted revised targets and some have finalized their national biodiversity strategies and action plans – more than 20 ahead of schedule. Others are proactively preparing their submissions. Much remains to be done to update plans and ensure rapid implementation across society. At UNEP, we have several programs to help Parties accelerate these achievements, including the German-funded Action Plan Accelerator and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Early Action Support Project. We cannot ignore the fact that one of the main factors limiting progress is the lack of finance, which is why the agenda item on resource mobilization will be firmly anchored at this COP.
Should the world raise its ambition for biodiversity targets?
The targets we agreed in Montreal for 2022 are now our guidelines, and all countries must now focus on implementing them. This will involve all sectors of society and cannot be left to environment ministries alone. It will involve agriculture, industry, mining, business, fisheries, urban and land-use planning, and more. All need to consider how their sector interacts with the natural environment. Do activities in wilderness areas enhance biodiversity or not? Can the same results be achieved without harming nature? These are questions we must all ask. And if we make the necessary changes, we are likely to meet the 23 ambitious, action-oriented targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework and be able to say that we are at peace with nature. Targets are just words on a page unless we back them up with concrete actions.
One of the key targets is finance. Is the world contributing enough to protect nature? At COP15, the figure was agreed to be $200 billion a year…
Remember that the $200 billion figure is a 2030 target and combines all sources of funding: private sector, philanthropic and public sector investments. So the whole-of-society approach is critical. How can economic activities and business investments, from food production to urban planning, be positive for biodiversity? And how can we transform our economic systems from the current exploitation of nature to one that recognizes that the value and assets of nature are the very foundation of human well-being and development? This is one of the main factors limiting the ability of developing countries to revise and implement their action plans and ultimately achieve the Kunming-Montreal Global Framework. Let’s face it, today we see many countries subsidizing activities that undermine nature. Today, harmful financial flows are 140 times higher than those that support nature. So these are key actions that countries need to review.
What should resource mobilization look like?
Obviously, resource mobilization from public sources is high on the COP16 agenda, and I hope that donor countries will back up the commitments they made in Montreal with increased funding. To that end, we need to see progress on the financial mechanism to coordinate and disburse these funds in an effective way. But we also need greater domestic resource mobilization from both the public and private sectors. Green budgeting is an important tool for integrating nature and biodiversity considerations into budgets and policies.
Earlier this year you said that we see environmental leadership coming out of Latin America. How do you see the different partnerships that are already forming in the region?
Latin America is coming to this COP with a united front, as a pioneering and ambitious region. Of course, with COP16 being held in the region, the region has a unique leadership position for this COP that others will look to. The recent special session of the Forum of Environment Ministers of Latin America and the Caribbean highlighted how many priorities are shared by countries in the region. The fact that the G20 is being held under the Brazilian presidency is also significant, as is the fact that the next COP on climate will also be held in Latin America. And, of course, we have seen that Colombia and Brazil are clearly bridging the gap between biodiversity and climate action, which is very positive.
You have been to Colombia and are familiar with some of the restoration projects being developed there. How do you see the conservation and restoration initiatives being developed in the country?
UNEP is proud to be working with Colombia in the city of Barranquilla as one of the 14 pilot cities of the UNEP-supported Ciudades generación restauración project, which aims to catalyze ecosystem restoration in urban areas. For example, the Leon Creek Restoration Project, which focuses on the conservation and recovery of the once-neglected creek, is particularly impressive.
What do you expect to see in Cali in terms of commitments from Parties?
In Cali, we need to see progress on, among other things, translating the Global Framework commitments into concrete actions, strengthening resource mobilization, ensuring that the financial mechanism is good and ready for implementation, and operationalizing the benefit-sharing mechanism for digital sequencing information on genetic resources.
EDWIN CAICEDO
ENVIRONMENT DESK