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The United Nations' latest biodiversity talks at COP16 have come to an end, with the entire conference ending in
Conferences of the Parties, or COPs, are designated annual United Nations conferences to talk about climate change. However, most the Earth's wide range of human-caused problems fall into two categories: climate and biodiversity. Due to this, there are two sets of COPs, one for climate and one for biodiversity, and a meeting for both is taking place in 2024. For the past two weeks, countries have been debating over solutions to the world's loss of biodiversity over the past few decades in Cali, Colombia.
Back in 2022, countries came to an agreement at COP15 in Montreal on 23 goals known as the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. This framework was a major step forward in restoring biodiversity, as it also included a goal to bring back 30 percent of the world’s deteriorated ecosystems by 2030. They did not detail exactly how to fund this project at that summit, though, making the issue the core topic of COP16.
However, the world's wealthy countries argued against the proposal to begin a fund to provide poorer countries with the money to restore biodiversity. The Earth's most biodiverse ecosystem, tropical rainforests, are the most at risk. Together, developing countries contain around 80% of the world's tropical rainforests, including the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil, the Congo Basin Rainforest in southern Africa, and the lush rainforests of Indonesia. Unfortunately, only around a third of the world's original tropical rainforest remains intact, accounting for a large portion of biodiversity loss.
Currently, there are around 166,000 species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s Red List, 46,300 of which are threatened with extinction. That includes 44% of reef building corals, 41% of amphibians, 38% of trees, 37% of sharks and rays, 34% of conifers, 26% of mammals, 26% of freshwater fish, and 12% of birds. On the other hand, scientists at the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) estimate that the number of endangered species around the world is a staggering 1 million. For example, the Amazon rainforest, the world's most biodiverse biome, can contain around 50,000 different species, ranging from trees to frogs to snakes to insects-- and around 15 square miles of the rainforest is deforested each day.
Despite these dangers, the European Union, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland all struck down the fund idea, claiming that it would make funding more complex instead of finding a way to raise money, while South American, African, and Pacific island nations strongly supported the idea. The EU also claimed that existing organizations can be improved to provide funding directly to areas in need rather than distributing it through a global fund. Brazil and Panama, two of the strongest advocates for the new fund, refused to participate in any other talks if their demands for financing were not met, and the disagreement forced the COP16 chair to temporarily suspend the meeting.
While developed countries have donated some money in the past, it is nowhere close to the amount needed. Countries established at COP15 that at least $700 billion was needed per year to reverse the ecosystem damage done by humans, while wealthy nations have pledged to donate a total of around $20 billion by 2025. By comparison, the world's military spending in 2023 was approximately $2.4 trillion.
Climate change and habitat loss are the two primary contributors to biodiversity loss, and neither problem is being solved. Around half of the world's GDP -- or $55 trillion -- depends on nature in some way, whether it be oil, agriculture, or logging. While goal after goal is being established, no action is being taken, and the root of the problem is the money required. Restoring and saving the environment requires large amounts of money, making financing an issue. Furthermore, many countries lack the motivation to donate to these causes, as few financial gains are made in the short-term. The aforementioned sources of income will not run out any time soon, but climate change and biodiversity loss will have other, smaller impacts that add up to create a larger problem in the future. Spending on the environment is a very long-term investment-- one that could not provide true benefits for decades, even generations to come.
But destruction happens fast. Our world is at a stage where the climate's health is tipping over the edge. Day by day, more carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere and our world loses more biodiversity. When species go extinct, there is no coming back. Once the climate goes over the edge, there is no coming back. Now is the time to act.
Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): There is a pressure point located between your thumb and index finger known as L1-4. Applying pressure to this point can help relieve headaches, sinus pressure, jaw pain, stress, anxiety, and more.
Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): I’m just enjoying the ride. I’m just contributing what I can.
(Randy Moss)
Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Cursory (adj)- Something described as cursory has been done or made quickly.
In a Sentence: We were disappointed that the mayor gave only a cursory glance at our report.
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