One planet meeting: without biodiversity, the climate will not be protected

At the One Planet Summit, organized by France in cooperation with the UN and the World Bank, more than 50 countries supported the plan to achieve a 30% occupancy rate of protected areas. planets land and oceans.

The 30-30 initiative could be the cornerstone of a meeting on biodiversity in Kunming, China, which was postponed last year due to a coronavirus pandemic. Although Beijing has not yet announced a new date, sources at the organization say the meeting is likely to take place in early October.

“So far, we are destroying our planet, abusing it as if we had a backup,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a video call from New York to Paris.

We poison the air, the earth and the water, we turn plastic into our oceans. And now nature is hitting back.

“We poison the air, the earth and the water, we turn plastic into our oceans. And now nature is striking back, “he said, citing the COVID-19 crisis as an example.

So far, efforts to restore nature globally are failing dramatically.

For the sixth time in half a billion years, a massive species extinction is taking place on the planet, most scientists believe. During this phenomenon, the species disappears 100 to 1,000 times faster than during normal periods.

An important UN report in 2019 warns that one million species – about one-eighth of all species – are under threat, primarily due to habitat loss and a growing appetite for humanity.

“Scanpix” nuotr./Antonio Guterresas

The effects of climate change have only recently become apparent.

An area of ​​old rainforest about the size of a football field is cut down or burned every six seconds.

A series of biodiversity goals set by the world’s states a decade ago have not been achieved, Guterres noted.

There is a threat to the clean air, drinking water and healthy ecosystems on which the survival of our species – and most other species – depends.