The fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is holding its first phase in virtual format from 11 to 15 October, with a focus on the adoption of the new Global Biodiversity Framework for the post-2020 period.

The fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which was initially scheduled to take place in autumn 2020 and was postponed several times due to the pandemic, is holding its first phase in virtual format from 11 to 15 October, with the focus on the adoption of the new Global Biodiversity Framework for the post-2020 period. The continuation of COP15, scheduled in person, will be held from April 25 to May 8, 2022, in the Chinese city of Kunming.

This Framework will define international biodiversity priorities in the next decade, setting out an ambitious plan to transform society’s relationship with biodiversity and ensure that by 2050, the shared vision of living in harmony with nature is fulfilled. The preliminary draft of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework includes the concern to ensure that the work of conservation and protection of biodiversity contributes to “the nutrition, food security and livelihoods of people, especially the most vulnerable”.

In addition, during this phase of the COP, other key decisions will be taken, such as resource mobilization and other aspects relevant to the implementation of the protocols of the Convention on Biological Diversity, aspects that address the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits of the use of biodiversity, and transport, as well as the safe handling and labelling of living modified organisms.

High-level meeting
The first part or opening of COP15 will feature a high-level segment on October 12 and 13, 2021 organized by China, virtually, in which the adoption of a “Kunming Declaration” is expected.

The segment will include a summit of leaders selected by the Chinese government, two virtual plenary sessions and four panel discussions, in two parallel sessions. The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) will participate in the panel discussion “Putting biodiversity on a Path to Recovery”, on 12 October.

EU 2030 Biodiversity Strategy

EU countries arrive at the COP with the biodiversity protection roadmap defined in the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, a broad and ambitious long-term plan to protect nature and reverse the degradation of ecosystems. The Strategy, adopted last year, aims to put European biodiversity on the path to recovery by the end of the decade, through concrete measures, actions and commitments.

This is the EU’s proposal for a contribution to the upcoming international negotiations on the Global Biodiversity Framework from 2020, which will be the subject of discussion at this COP. The objectives of the Strategy are to establish a wider network of protected areas on land and at sea across the EU, to launch a nature restoration plan in the EU and to introduce measures that enable the necessary transformative change, in addition to those needed to address the global challenge of biodiversity loss.

In addition is one of the fundamental pillars of the European Green Deal, which will transform the EU into a strong, competitive and sustainable economy. As such, the Strategy will drive a green recovery at EU level following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under this umbrella, EU countries are participating in COP15 with the clear objective of advancing on the path of biodiversity protection in line with sustainable development and growth.

The global stage to protect biodiversity
To date, the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity has held 14 ordinary meetings and one extraordinary meeting. From 1994 to 1996 it held its regular meetings annually. Since then, they have taken place less frequently and, following an amendment to the regulations in 2000, will now be held every two years. The pandemic health situation prevented COP15 from taking place in 2020, as initially planned.

The Convention on Biological Diversity is an international treaty, adopted in 1993 and signed by almost 200 countries, whose objectives are the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of natural resources and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits derived from the use of these resources.