UN Biodiversity Conference Resumes Negotiations in Rome
Environmental activist protesting in Rome, Italy, Feb. 25, 2025. X/ @Greenpeace
February 25, 2025 Hour: 10:53 am
COP16 remains a ‘symbol of resilience and hope,’ said Colombian environmentalist Susana Muhamad.
On Tuesday, the United Nations Conference on Biodiversity (COP16) resumed negotiations in Rome, a summit that requires “political, not technical, decisions” and serves as an “opportunity” to reach agreements on biodiversity financing.
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COP16 Chair Susana Muhamad emphasized that the financing agenda requires political decisions to “overcome current institutional challenges and fiscal constraints.”
She urged countries to commit to adopting “innovative and sustainable solutions” that “ensure” the necessary resources to achieve global biodiversity goals.
Muhamad, who earlier this month submitted her resignation as Environment Minister to Colombian President Gustavo Petro and is about to leave office, called for global action and political will to “sustain life on the planet” and ensure the implementation of the agreements reached at this summit, which will serve as a roadmap for the next six years.
The Colombian environmentalist thus launched the second round of COP16 negotiations, following an initial meeting in 2024 in Cali, Colombia, where a lack of quorum in one session prevented an agreement from being reached to “halt and reverse” biodiversity loss.
From February 25 to 27, country delegates will discuss key issues to achieve this goal, including resource mobilization, the future of the financial mechanism, and the monitoring of the Kunming-Montreal Global Framework.
The plenary session also highlighted the need for long-term planning, with a five- to six-year vision, to ensure that means align with goals and to lay the groundwork for achieving the 2030 targets.
“Are we capable of building the capacities that this Convention and the Montreal Economic Framework require? Of transcending institutional structures that are old, outdated, and inadequate in the face of today’s 21st-century challenges? Are we capable of awakening our creative capacity and imagining that together we can achieve something greater?” the COP16 chair asked.
Muhamad stressed that COP16 remains a “symbol of resilience and hope,” reiterating that the purpose of this multilateral process remains “intact” and that “stakeholders and interested parties are still engaged.”
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
