Latest news with #SusanaMuhamad
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Delegates reach unprecedented agreement funding international efforts to protect wilderness: 'I come out of the meeting ... optimistic'
Global delegates have finalized an ambitious plan to raise at least $200 billion annually to protect nature. The agreement, led by negotiators from the BRICS nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — represents a crucial step toward preserving biodiversity and supporting environmental efforts worldwide. The deal is designed to fund efforts to halt and reverse the loss of wildlife and natural ecosystems. It builds on the landmark Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework established in 2022, which set out various environmental targets. Delegates also agreed on technical rules for monitoring progress toward these targets and committed to publishing national reports of their plans ahead of the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. COP16 President Colombian Environment Minister Susana Muhamad hailed the agreement as a win for multilateralism and for nature. "From Cali to Rome, we have sent a light of hope that still the common good, the environment and the protection of life and the capacity to come together for something bigger than the national interest is possible," she said. Another key part of the agreement involves determining whether a new biodiversity fund is needed or an existing fund, such as the one run by the Global Environment Facility, is good enough. The need for action has never been clearer. Data from the World Wide Fund For Nature's 2024 Living Planet Report revealed that the average size of wildlife populations has dropped by 73% since 1970. With the agreement in place, negotiators have expressed optimism. Maria Angelica Ikeda of Brazil's Ministry of Foreign Affairs highlighted how compromise played a role in achieving a positive result, especially for developing nations. "Everyone with the spirit of compromise made concessions, and in general for developing countries the result was very positive," she said. "I come out of the meeting happy and optimistic," she added. While there are challenges ahead, with concerns about cuts to international aid from major funders, including the U.S., this agreement marks an important step in ensuring that vital biodiversity projects receive the financial support they need. With continued collaboration, this plan hopes to empower countries to protect nature, benefiting people and the environment for years to come. Which of these environmental causes would you be most interested in supporting with a financial donation? Promoting clean energy Protecting clean air Advancing forest conservation Fighting climate change Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Reuters
02-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Nations agree plan to finance nature protection, at second attempt
ROME, Feb 28 (Reuters) - A gathering of countries in Rome this week agreed a plan to generate $200 billion in finance a year by 2030 to halt and begin to reverse the destruction of the natural world. The U.N.'s COP16 talks on biodiversity began last October in Colombia but failed at that time to reach an agreement on key elements, including who would contribute, how the money would be gathered and who would oversee it. U.S. President Donald Trump is scaling back the involvement of the world's biggest economy in development finance, so the agreement late on Thursday night was a welcome boost for global deal-making. Led by negotiators from the so-called BRICS countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - the final deal saw delegates agree a plan to find at least $200 billion per year from a range of sources to protect nature. COP16 President and Colombian Environment Minister Susana Muhamad heralded the agreement as a triumph for nature and for multilateralism in a year when the political landscape is increasingly fragmented and diplomatic frictions are growing. "From Cali to Rome we have sent a light of hope that still the common good, the environment and the protection of life and the capacity to come together for something bigger than the national interest is possible," she said. Delegates also agreed to explore whether a new biodiversity fund needed to be created, as requested by some developing countries, or whether an existing fund like the one run by the Global Environment Facility would be enough. The GEF has provided more than $23 billion to thousands of nature projects in the past 30 years. "Everyone with the spirit of compromise made concessions, and in general for developing countries the result was very positive," Maria Angelica Ikeda, director of the Department of Environment at the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Reuters as the plenary wrapped up on Thursday night. "I come out of the meeting happy and optimistic." The need for action has only increased in recent years, with the average size of wildlife populations down 73% since 1970, data from the WWF's 2024 Living Planet Report shows. Although the U.S. was never a signatory to the biodiversity convention, it was one of the biggest funders of nature and biodiversity efforts. Its current freeze on foreign aid has had broad impacts, from anti-poaching efforts suspended in South Africa to funding cuts at big conservation NGOs. The cuts are also raising concerns the U.S. will not participate in the next round of replenishments for the GEF, which are underway. The spectre of aid cuts was also felt in negotiating rooms, fuelling frustration among some countries from Brazil to Egypt and Panama that rich nations were not fulfilling their obligations to deliver grant money. Latest OECD data estimates a total of $15.4 billion of international biodiversity finance was disbursed in 2022, with 83% of this coming from public sources. Zoological Society of London's policy head Georgina Chandler urged governments to fulfil their commitment to $30 billion per year by 2030 to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. The deal in Rome helps lay out the steps needed to implement the landmark Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) deal, agreed in 2022 and which committed countries to a range of environmental targets. Countries also agreed a set of technical rules for monitoring progress towards the GBF and secured a commitment for countries to publish a national report on their biodiversity plans for the COP17 nature talks. The talks come at the start of a busy year for international climate diplomacy as countries meet at various events to discuss plastics pollution, preserving the oceans and meeting global development goals, ahead of the COP30 climate talks in November.
Trade Arabia
01-03-2025
- Politics
- Trade Arabia
UN conference pact mobilises $200bn boost for nature
Governments on Friday reached agreement on a strategy to raise an additional $200 billion each year to better protect the world's flora and fauna by 2030. Delegates met in Rome for the resumption of the UN Biodiversity Conference to hammer out an agreement at COP16.2 after attempts to reach a deal on financing at COP16 in Cali, Colombia, fell short last November. It is hoped that the hard-won decisions made by parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity will shore up biodiversity and fragile ecosystems which are bearing the brunt of increased conflict, deforestation, mining, toxic waste dumping and other environmental impacts worldwide. 'We very much welcome this announcement,' the UN Secretary-General's Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Friday. 'We need to mobilise at least $200 billion dollars a year by 2030 to close the global biodiversity finance gap.' 'These days of work in Rome have demonstrated the commitment of the parties to advance the implementation of the [Kunming-Montreal] Global Biodiversity Framework,' said COP16 president Susana Muhamad, referring to the landmark 2022 agreement and underscoring 'the collective effort to reach consensus of key issues that were left pending in Cali'. The Global Biodiversity Framework aims to address biodiversity loss, restore ecosystems and protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples, who suffer disproportionately from biodiversity loss and environmental degradation. The global framework also contains concrete measures to halt and reverse nature loss, including protection measures covering 30% of the planet and 30 per cent of degraded ecosystems by 2030, she stated. Currently only 17% of land and around eight per cent of marine areas are protected.
CBC
28-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
Countries reach a $200-billion deal to protect nature. The U.S. was not involved
Social Sharing A gathering of countries in Rome this week agreed on a plan to generate $200 billion US in finance a year by 2030 to halt and begin to reverse the destruction of the natural world. The United Nations' COP16 talks on biodiversity began last October in Colombia but failed at that time to reach an agreement on key elements, including who would contribute, how the money would be gathered and who would oversee it. U.S. President Donald Trump is scaling back the involvement of the world's biggest economy in development finance, so the agreement late on Thursday night was a welcome boost for global deal-making. Led by negotiators from the so-called BRICS countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — the final deal saw delegates agree on a plan to find at least $200 billion US per year from a range of sources to protect nature. Susana Muhamad, COP16 president and Colombia's outgoing environment minister, heralded the agreement as a triumph for nature and for multilateralism in a year when the political landscape is increasingly fragmented and diplomatic frictions are growing. "From Cali to Rome, we have sent a light of hope that still the common good, the environment and the protection of life and the capacity to come together for something bigger than the national interest is possible," Muhamad said. The agreement is also a win for Canadian diplomatic efforts. The finance deal is a result of a landmark agreement in Montreal in 2022, when countries agreed to protect 30 per cent of the world's lands and oceans. Canadian negotiators, led by federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, got that deal through complex and fraught negotiations involving 196 countries. Since then, the Canadian government has pushed funding into conservation efforts at home, including an announcement on Thursday of $200 million for Inuit-led conservation in the Arctic. Delegates also agreed to explore whether a new biodiversity fund needed to be created, as requested by some developing countries, or whether an existing fund like the one run by the Global Environment Facility would be enough. The GEF has provided more than $23 billion US to thousands of nature projects in the past 30 years. "Everyone with the spirit of compromise made concessions, and in general for developing countries the result was very positive," Maria Angélica Ikeda, director of the Department of Environment at the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Reuters as the plenary wrapped up on Thursday night. "I come out of the meeting happy and optimistic." The need for action has only increased in recent years, with the average size of wildlife populations down 73 per cent since 1970, data from the World Wide Fund for Nature's 2024 Living Planet Report shows. The spectre of aid cuts was also felt in negotiating rooms, fuelling frustration among some countries from Brazil to Egypt and Panama that rich nations were not fulfilling their obligations to deliver grant money. The Zoological Society of London's policy head, Georgina Chandler, urged governments to fulfil their commitment to $30 billion US per year by 2030 to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. The deal in Rome helps lay out the steps needed to implement the landmark Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), which was agreed to in 2022 and committed countries to a range of environmental targets. Countries also agreed to a set of technical rules for monitoring progress toward the GBF and secured a commitment for countries to publish a national report on their biodiversity plans at the next nature conference, COP17, which will be held in Armenia in 2026. The talks come at the start of a busy year for international climate diplomacy as countries meet at various events to discuss plastics pollution, preserving the oceans and meeting global development goals, ahead of the COP30 climate talks in November.
Zawya
28-02-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Nations agree plan to finance nature protection at second attempt
A gathering of countries in Rome this week agreed a plan to generate $200 billion in finance a year by 2030 to halt and begin to reverse the destruction of the natural world. The U.N.'s COP16 talks on biodiversity began last October in Colombia but failed at that time to reach an agreement on key elements, including who would contribute, how the money would be gathered and who would oversee it. U.S. President Donald Trump is scaling back the involvement of the world's biggest economy in development finance, so the agreement late on Thursday night was a welcome boost for global deal-making. Led by negotiators from the so-called BRICS countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - the final deal saw delegates agree a plan to find at least $200 billion per year from a range of sources to protect nature. COP16 President and Colombian Environment Minister Susana Muhamad heralded the agreement as a triumph for nature and for multilateralism in a year when the political landscape is increasingly fragmented and diplomatic frictions are growing. "From Cali to Rome we have sent a light of hope that still the common good, the environment and the protection of life and the capacity to come together for something bigger than the national interest is possible," she said. Delegates also agreed to explore whether a new biodiversity fund needed to be created, as requested by some developing countries, or whether an existing fund like the one run by the Global Environment Facility would be enough. The GEF has provided more than $23 billion to thousands of nature projects in the past 30 years. "Everyone with the spirit of compromise made concessions, and in general for developing countries the result was very positive," Maria Angelica Ikeda, director of the Department of Environment at the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Reuters as the plenary wrapped up on Thursday night. "I come out of the meeting happy and optimistic." The need for action has only increased in recent years, with the average size of wildlife populations down 73% since 1970, data from the WWF's 2024 Living Planet Report shows. The spectre of aid cuts was also felt in negotiating rooms, fuelling frustration among some countries from Brazil to Egypt and Panama that rich nations were not fulfilling their obligations to deliver grant money. Zoological Society of London's policy head Georgina Chandler urged governments to fulfil their commitment to $30 billion per year by 2030 to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. The deal in Rome helps lay out the steps needed to implement the landmark Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) deal, agreed in 2022 and which committed countries to a range of environmental targets. Countries also agreed a set of technical rules for monitoring progress towards the GBF and secured a commitment for countries to publish a national report on their biodiversity plans for the COP17 nature talks. The talks come at the start of a busy year for international climate diplomacy as countries meet at various events to discuss plastics pollution, preserving the oceans and meeting global development goals, ahead of the COP30 climate talks in November. (Editing by Simon Jessop, William Maclean)
