Cop27 must pave the way for ‘a Paris moment’ for nature, says UN

It took a while, but the people at the COP now realize that climate and biodiversity are deeply intertwined.

The COP finally recognizes the interlinked crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, and the critical role of nature in delivering benefits for both adaptation and mitigation.

The outcome of #cop27 will be crucial not just in terms of tackling the climate crisis but to help ensure a future for nature, the UN’s head of biodiversity has said, outlining plans for “a Paris moment for biodiversity” at Cop15 in Montreal in December.

“Clearly the world is crying out for change, watching as governments seek to heal our relationships with nature, with the climate,” said Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, executive secretary of the convention on biological diversity (CBD), at a media briefing on Thursday.

“Scientists have told us in no uncertain terms … that climate change and biodiversity loss are intrinsically connected and that’s why we are looking at the [Cop15] framework as, basically, a Paris moment for biodiversity.”

In Paris in 2015, governments agreed legally binding targets to limit global temperature rises for the first time, pledging to hold global heating to well below 2C, with an aspiration not to breach 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

“We’re seeing more and more biodiversity agenda appearing in the discussions under the climate Cop,” Mrema said. “The outcomes from Cop27 will be instrumental, and will influence a lot the discussions and specific targets under the framework.”

David Cooper, deputy executive secretary of the CBD, said the climate crisis is one of the main drivers of biodiversity decline. “If we don’t have successful outcomes in the climate process, then we cannot hold and reverse biodiversity loss … we depend on the success of the climate conference, but they also depend on the success of the biodiversity conference,” he said.