Biodiversity COP15 chaired by China will conclude in Canada

In Montreal Dec. 5 to 17 with  Expected Approval of Landmark Global AgreementDate, venue confirmed as nations convene in Nairobi to continue work on final text of Global Biodiversity Framework to safeguard nature.

With China in the Chair as President, the 15th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity will reconvene Dec. 5 to 17 in Montreal, Canada, where a new world agreement to safeguard nature is expected to be adopted.

The decision was confirmed at a meeting of the Bureau of the CBD on Tuesday and announced as Parties to the CBD convene in Nairobi (June 21-26) to advance negotiations on an ambitious Global Biodiversity Framework that will set the world on a path to bend the curve on nature loss.

Originally planned for Kunming, China in 2020, COP15 was postponed due to the global COVID-19 pandemic and later split into a two-part event. Part 1 was successfully held in Kunming last October. Chinese President XI Jinping and other State leaders from eight Parties as well as the UN Secretary General made online presentations and speeches, reinforcing their commitment to address the biodiversity crisis. The Chinese Government, Yunnan province and the city of Kunming have been working continuously to ensure a successful COP15. 

COP15 part 1 was also highlighted by the Kunming Declaration and President Xi Jinping’s  announcement that China would take the lead to invest RMB 1.5 billion to establish the Kunming Biodiversity Fund, providing strong political impetus to global biodiversity governance and a solid foundation for the second part of COP 15.

“It is with great pride that I can confirm Canada will welcome the world to Montreal in December 2022 for COP15. There is an urgent need for international partners to halt and reverse the alarming loss of biodiversity worldwide. With up to one million species currently at risk of extinction worldwide, the world cannot afford to wait any longer for global action on nature protection. Canada will continue to advocate for international collaboration on an ambitious Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework” said the Honourable Steven Guilbeault Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

At Nairobi’s six-day 4th round of negotiations, delegates will continue progress on the GBF, building on the strong work undertaken in Geneva in March.