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Africa

Africa: At COP16, Guterres Urges World to ‘Choose Wisely…Make Peace With Nature’

todayOctober 30, 2024 2

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UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday called for decisive action to restore harmony with nature, warning that environmental crises are pushing humanity toward tipping points that threaten ecosystems, livelihoods and global stability.

Speaking at the opening of the 16th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16), he emphasized that “making peace with nature is the defining task of the 21st century.”

“Nature is life. And yet we are waging a war against it – a war in which there can be no winner,” he declared.

“Every year, we see temperatures climbing higher. Every day, we lose more species. Every minute, we dump a garbage truck of plastic waste into our oceans, rivers and lakes. Make no mistake – this is what an existential crisis looks like.”

The theme for the conference in Cali, Colombia, is “la COP de la gente” (a COP of the people). It continues until 1 November with discussions focused on biodiversity conservation, environmental justice and the role of indigenous and local communities in shaping sustainable futures.

It is the first Biodiversity COP since the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in December 2022 in Montreal, Canada.

Secretary-General Guterres addresses the high-level opening of the COP16 conference.Time for action

Mr. Guterres highlighted the urgency of the situation with sobering statistics: around 75 per cent of the Earth’s land surface and 66 per cent of its oceans have already been altered by human activity.

“With each passing day, we are edging closer to tipping points that could fuel further hunger, displacement and armed conflicts.“

He called on countries to implement the Kunming-Montreal Framework, which aims to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.

He stressed the importance of national plans aligned with the framework’s targets, backed by transparent monitoring and robust financing, including at least $200 billion annually by 2030.

Turn promises into action

“We must turn these promises into action in four vital ways,” Mr. Guterres said, calling on nations to present “clear, ambitious and detailed plans” to align with the Framework’s targets.

Alongside, leaders must agree on strengthening monitoring and transparency. Promises for financing must be kept while support to developing countries is accelerated.