COP 15 – Biodiversity
Rewind to the end of October and COP 26 – only four months ago and the world was a very different place. Sure, traffic was bad across Scotland’s central belt and for those of us who fly gliders, there was a no-fly zone across much of the country. COP 15 is something less of us may be aware of and is the Conference of People geared towards biodiversity. The 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly known as COP15, was held in Copenhagen, Denmark, and is seen as the most critical biodiversity summit in a decade, with natural species declining at unprecedented rates in human history.
What is biodiversity? the OED cites is as the noun depicting the variety of plant and animal life in the world or in a particular habitat , a high level of which is usually considered to be important and desirable. The antonym of biodiversity is homogeneity. Take a walk through any woodland and you will immediately notice a strange thing. Woods with different and diverse species of trees and plants echo with the sound of bird and insect life. Ancient woodlands of oak, beech, elm and birch all cooperate and collaborate in harmony with each other, creating a sustainable and ideal environment. Whereas in a monoculture forest, of say eucalyptus or Norway spruce, whose purpose is always commercial, there is an absence of life. Almost no noise. If you don’t believe me check my theory. I remember on the Pilgrim route a few years back my brother-in-law and I walked almost two days through a monoculture forest. We felt relief as we left the forest for the mountains, which had left us with a feeling of unease and anxiety.
Despite governmental commitments made in 2010, biodiversity has further declined over the past decade. More than 4,000 species are threatened with extinction[1], representing 28% of all species under assessment. That includes 41% of amphibians, 26% of mammals, 34% of conifers, 13% of birds 37% of sharks and rays, 33% of reef corals and 21% of reptiles.
However, the summit has been postponed three times because of the COVID pandemic and has been split into two phases. The first phase took place virtually last October, and the second phase was expected to be a face-to-face meeting in Kunming at which world leaders could conclude negotiations on a framework. The first draft of the post-2020 framework, released by the United Nations has called for protection of at least 30 per cent of global land and sea areas by 2030. The key issues to be discussed at this year’s COP15 summit include financing and implementation. The concern is that the second phase of the Biodiversity Conference could well be delayed from its current plan for April/May.
Its targets also include the reduction of pesticide usage by more than two-thirds by 2030, abolishing plastic waste and originating funding for focus on biodiversity to at least US$200 billion a year. We often see China as a macro polluter, and with good reason, but credit where it’s due, during the first meeting China promised to donate 1.5 billion yuan (c.US$230m) to create a new fund helping developing countries protect global biodiversity
In the latest IPCC[2] report out at the end of February 2022, roughly half of living organisms assess in the report are moving to higher ground or gravitating towards the poles. 14% of assessed species will face high extinction risk if global warming reaches 1.5C and almost 30% will face extinction at 3C.
We keep on being told it’s too late, which I don’t buy into. I’m an optimist, but nevertheless, I’m also nervous about what. I’m going to plant different trees every year as long as I live, not for me but God willing, for my grandchildren.
Sources and References
[1] https://www.iucnredlist.org/
[2] Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
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