After the 'Paris Agreement' for nature was adopted in 2022, what's next at COP16 biodiversity meet?

Unlocking new sources of financing for nature, ending harmful subsidies and benefit sharing among issues to be discussed

Synopsis: Every first and third Sunday of the month, The Straits Times analyses the beat of the changing environment, from biodiversity conservation to climate change.

It has been two years since the Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted, and almost 200 countries are set to gather in Cali, Colombia, from Oct 21 to Nov 1 to discuss the way forward. The framework, touted as the biodiversity equivalent of the Paris Agreement that aims to help the world avert catastrophic climate change, wants to help slow, even reverse, nature’s decline. 

The framework outlines four goals that the world hopes to achieve by 2050, including protecting and restoring nature and closing the biodiversity finance gap. The framework also outlines 22 targets, to be achieved by 2030, to help the world achieve the longer-term goals. Targets include the one to restore 30 per cent of all degraded ecosystems by 2030, and to protect and restore 30 per cent of the world’s lands and seas by that same timeline. 

At COP16, countries are expected to come up with an action plan to translate these goals and targets into concrete action. But what are some hot topics, and how will countries navigate this? To find out more, hosts Audrey Tan and David Fogarty chat with Mr Will McGoldrick, Asia-Pacific managing director for The Nature Conservancy. 

Highlights of conversation (click/tap above):

2:29 Why is COP16 important? 

4:48 What does The Nature Conservancy – one of the world’s largest environmental non-profit organisations that is tracking negotiations – expect to see at COP16? 

6:40 Protecting nature does not come cheap. What are negotiations looking like on the finance front? 

9:46 How do we start to phase out subsidies that harm nature? 

14:30 Benefit sharing is expected to be another topic of discussions at COP16. What is it and why is it important? 

17:12 How are South-east Asian countries approaching nature conservation? 

Follow Audrey Tan on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/848W

Read her articles: https://str.sg/JLM2

Follow David Fogarty on X: https://str.sg/JLM6

Read his articles: https://str.sg/JLMu

Hosts: Audrey Tan (audreyt@sph.com.sg) & David Fogarty (dfogarty@sph.com.sg)

Produced and edited by: Hadyu Rahim

Executive producer: Ernest Luis

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