AFP UK

When delegates gathered in the vast plenary, drama struck

Expectations heading into a UN biodiversity conference in Montreal were about as low as they could be. 

But a broad recognition that it was now or never for nature — and a flurry of late diplomacy by China —  helped seal a “historic” deal on a night of high drama.

Dubbed the “ugly duckling” of global policy, the COP15 negotiations were snubbed by world leaders who had just attended a far higher-profile climate summit in Egypt.

Beijing, which held the presidency of the talks, at first appeared to have a hands-off approach, and the defining issue — whether the rich world would pledge enough money so their developing counterparts could protect vanishing species and habitats — seemed too great to surmount.

“For months, there was the question: Where is China?” a high-level source close to the matter told AFP.

What’s more, relations between China and Canada, which had to step in to host the event because of China’s strict Covid rules, have deteriorated in recent years.

Canada’s 2018 arrest of Chinese telecommunications executive Meng Wanzhou at the request of the United States was followed quickly by China arresting two Canadians.

Just last month, Chinese leader Xi Jinping was caught on camera scolding Canada’s Justin Trudeau over a sleight. 

What’s more, “it’s strange to have a Chinese presidency on North American soil,” said the high-level source — and early signs did nothing to dispel assumptions that China in charge would mean a weakening of ambition.

In the first week, China let Canada run the show shepherding talks on the key issues, from finance to the cornerstone target of protecting 30 percent of land and oceans by 2030.

But as the clock ticked down, it was China that took charge of the text, in an approach described as “gentle” diplomacy: having subject experts and political representatives work in a calm, even environment, according to another diplomatic source.

“China closed out the deal and cornered the developing countries with the $30 billion financing pledge by 2030,” said a third source, a European negotiator. 

When countries of the Global North sought more ambitious targets from the South, China responded by telling them they’d need to up their financing. And Beijing acted as a neutral arbiter, not aligning itself with the Group of 77 as it normally does.

“They’ve taken the risk of putting their own reputation on the line for something many thought they weren’t the natural leaders of,” said Lee White, a British-Gabonese conservationist and minister of water, forests and environment of Gabon. 

Nor is China a natural champion of environmental issues, having badly polluted its air and waters and degraded much of its land through agricultural production — a process it is trying to reverse through a greenification campaign. 

“Countries that destroy their biodiversity end up regretting it —  I think the Chinese probably got to that point and are now trying to put things right,” said White.

– High drama –

The passage of China’s compromise text wasn’t smooth sailing. 

A plenary session to ratify the text was postponed Sunday several times to accommodate last minute holdouts, though delegates were eventually asked to take their seats by around 9:00 pm, and wait. And wait, and wait, and wait. 

Some left the main hall to take naps, with several Western delegates expressing irritation that the session was not being adjourned until the next day.

It was around 3:00 am that the session finally began. A new text had been uploaded, and participants were once more buzzing at the prospect of a “peace pact for nature.” When delegates gathered in the vast plenary hall, drama struck.

A delegate from Democratic Republic of Congo refused to back the accord, demanding more funds.

The conference chair, China’s environment minister Huang Runqiu, brushed this off, declaring the deal “approved” and whacking down his gavel to loud applause. DRC’s ally Uganda branded it a “fraud” and a “coup,” but the accord passed.

An exultant Steven Guilbeault, Canada’s environment minister, downplayed the drama — insisting the process was upheld by the United Nations and disagreements on this scale were commonplace at such summits which he had been attending for 25 years.

“I’ve never seen a presidency text tabled and have so much support for it from the get-go,” with the vast majority of countries signing up right away, he enthused.

On cooperation with China, he told AFP: “We both decided to set aside our differences… to focus on what unites us,” adding: “What China and Canada have accomplished together in our relationship is symbolic of what we’ve accomplished here together, more than 196 countries.”

While China took center stage, the United States participated only in a supporting role.

President Joe Biden supports the pact’s goals and announced his own “30×30” plan domestically — but political opposition by Republicans prevents the US from signing on to the convention on biological diversity.

When delegates gathered in the vast plenary, drama struck

Expectations heading into a UN biodiversity conference in Montreal were about as low as they could be. 

But a broad recognition that it was now or never for nature — and a flurry of late diplomacy by China —  helped seal a “historic” deal on a night of high drama.

Dubbed the “ugly duckling” of global policy, the COP15 negotiations were snubbed by world leaders who had just attended a far higher-profile climate summit in Egypt.

Beijing, which held the presidency of the talks, at first appeared to have a hands-off approach, and the defining issue — whether the rich world would pledge enough money so their developing counterparts could protect vanishing species and habitats — seemed too great to surmount.

“For months, there was the question: Where is China?” a high-level source close to the matter told AFP.

What’s more, relations between China and Canada, which had to step in to host the event because of China’s strict Covid rules, have deteriorated in recent years.

Canada’s 2018 arrest of Chinese telecommunications executive Meng Wanzhou at the request of the United States was followed quickly by China arresting two Canadians.

Just last month, Chinese leader Xi Jinping was caught on camera scolding Canada’s Justin Trudeau over a sleight. 

What’s more, “it’s strange to have a Chinese presidency on North American soil,” said the high-level source — and early signs did nothing to dispel assumptions that China in charge would mean a weakening of ambition.

In the first week, China let Canada run the show shepherding talks on the key issues, from finance to the cornerstone target of protecting 30 percent of land and oceans by 2030.

But as the clock ticked down, it was China that took charge of the text, in an approach described as “gentle” diplomacy: having subject experts and political representatives work in a calm, even environment, according to another diplomatic source.

“China closed out the deal and cornered the developing countries with the $30 billion financing pledge by 2030,” said a third source, a European negotiator. 

When countries of the Global North sought more ambitious targets from the South, China responded by telling them they’d need to up their financing. And Beijing acted as a neutral arbiter, not aligning itself with the Group of 77 as it normally does.

“They’ve taken the risk of putting their own reputation on the line for something many thought they weren’t the natural leaders of,” said Lee White, a British-Gabonese conservationist and minister of water, forests and environment of Gabon. 

Nor is China a natural champion of environmental issues, having badly polluted its air and waters and degraded much of its land through agricultural production — a process it is trying to reverse through a greenification campaign. 

“Countries that destroy their biodiversity end up regretting it —  I think the Chinese probably got to that point and are now trying to put things right,” said White.

– High drama –

The passage of China’s compromise text wasn’t smooth sailing. 

A plenary session to ratify the text was postponed Sunday several times to accommodate last minute holdouts, though delegates were eventually asked to take their seats by around 9:00 pm, and wait. And wait, and wait, and wait. 

Some left the main hall to take naps, with several Western delegates expressing irritation that the session was not being adjourned until the next day.

It was around 3:00 am that the session finally began. A new text had been uploaded, and participants were once more buzzing at the prospect of a “peace pact for nature.” When delegates gathered in the vast plenary hall, drama struck.

A delegate from Democratic Republic of Congo refused to back the accord, demanding more funds.

The conference chair, China’s environment minister Huang Runqui, brushed this off, declaring the deal “approved” and whacking down his gavel to loud applause. DRC’s ally Uganda branded it a “fraud” and a “coup,” but the accord passed.

An exultant Steven Guilbeault, Canada’s environment minister, downplayed the drama — insisting the process was upheld by the United Nations and disagreements on this scale were commonplace at such summits which he had been attending for 25 years.

“I’ve never seen a presidency text tabled and have so much support for it from the get-go,” with the vast majority of countries signing up right away, he enthused.

On cooperation with China, he told AFP: “We both decided to set aside our differences… to focus on what unites us,” adding: “What China and Canada have accomplished together in our relationship is symbolic of what we’ve accomplished here together, more than 196 countries.”

While China took center stage, the United States participated only in a supporting role.

President Joe Biden supports the pact’s goals and announced his own “30×30” plan domestically — but political opposition by Republicans prevents the US from signing on to the convention on biological diversity.

Many activists want to make sure Indigenous rights are not trampled in the name of conservation — previous efforts to safeguard land have seen communities marginalized or displaced in what has been dubbed "green colonialism"

After years of negotiations, the world has agreed a landmark deal to protect vanishing species and ecosystems.

Here are some of the strengths of the pact agreed at the UN meeting in Montreal called COP15, as well as where it fell short.

– ’30 by 30′ –

The cornerstone of the agreement is the so-called 30 by 30 goal — a pledge to protect 30 percent of the world’s land and seas by 2030 — up from about 17 percent of land and seven percent of oceans currently. 

The oceans target had reportedly been opposed by some countries but made it into the final text. Some experts had said 30 percent is a low aim, insisting that protecting 50 percent would be better. 

– Indigenous rights –

Indigenous rights were addressed throughout the text, including in areas covered by the 30 by 30 pledge — safeguarding Indigenous peoples’ right to remain stewards of land they use and ensuring they are not subject to evictions in the name of conservation.

The International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity praised the text for its “strong language on respect for the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.”

– Funding – 

The text approves the objective for rich countries to provide “at least US$20 billion per year by 2025, and … at least US$30 billion per year by 2030,” approximately double and then triple the current international aid for biodiversity.

Developing countries were seeking a new funding mechanism, but developed nations said it would take several years to create.

A halfway solution was adopted: a “trust fund” within an existing financial mechanism called the Global Environment Facility, as a stepping stone towards a new fund.

– Pesticides –

The accord prescribes efforts for “reducing the overall risk from pesticides and highly hazardous chemicals by at least half.”

Some delegates and campaigners had argued that the emphasis should be on overall pesticide “use” which is easier to measure. But specialists said some pesticides are powerful in small quantities so the emphasis should be on “risk.”

– Genetic sequencing –

The framework demands people receive benefits from “genetic resources” originating in their countries: natural assets, such as medicine or cosmetic ingredients in plants, which may be sourced in a developing country but then have their genetic information mapped and shared with researchers and companies abroad.

The text calls on parties to “ensure the fair and equitable sharing of benefits that arise from the utilization of genetic resources and from digital sequence information” and “traditional knowledge” associated with them.

– Business –

Despite common fears of “greenwashing” at environment summits, several delegates and observers said businesses played a largely positive role at COP25. But some noted lacked a strong mandate for businesses to assess and report on their biodiversity impacts — the accord instead merely urged countries to “encourage” them to do so.

Eliot Whittington, director of policy at the says Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, said the accord should “prompt a new mandatory disclosure framework for larger businesses… something the business community has supported vigorously at COP15.”

– Milestones –

The document sets a mechanism for implementation of the deal, but it is less strict than the Paris climate agreement. Campaigners complained the COP15 text did not contain enough “milestones” for marking progress.

For example, the text says human-induced extinction of known threatened species must be halted, and, by 2050, the extinction rate of all species reduced tenfold — but there aren’t targets that countries must hit before that year.

Chinese Environment Minister Huang Runqiu declared the historic nature accord adopted

Countries reached a historic deal on Monday to reverse decades of environmental destruction threatening the world’s species and ecosystems, in what the UN chief hailed as “a peace pact with nature.”

After the marathon COP 15 biodiversity summit in Montreal ran into the small hours, chair Chinese Environment Minister Huang Runqiu, declared the deal adopted and banged his gavel, sparking loud applause.

“We are finally starting to forge a peace pact with nature,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, hailing the accord.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said the deal was a “foundation for global action on biodiversity, complementing the Paris Agreement for Climate.”

And the United States hailed the outcome as a “turning point,” voicing appreciation for the role of frequent adversary China. State Department spokesman Ned Price called the deal “sweeping and ambitious.”

American President Joe Biden supports the deal and has launched his own “30 by 30” plan domestically, but the United States is not formally a party to the biodiversity convention because of opposition by Republicans in Congress.

After four years of fraught negotiations, more than 190 other states rallied behind the Chinese-brokered accord aimed at saving Earth’s lands, oceans and species from pollution, degradation and the climate crisis.

“We have in our hands a package which I think can guide us all to work together to hold and reverse biodiversity loss, to put biodiversity on the path of recovery for the benefit of all people in the world,” Huang told the assembly.

He overruled an objection from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which had refused to back the text, demanding greater funding for developing countries.

– Biggest conservation deal ever –

The deal pledges to secure 30 percent of the planet as a protected zone by 2030, stump up $30 billion in yearly conservation aid for the developing world and halt human-caused extinctions of threatened species.

Environmentalists have compared it to the landmark plan to limit global warming to 1.5C under the Paris agreement, though some warned that it did not go far enough.

Brian O’Donnell of the Campaign for Nature called it “the largest land and ocean conservation commitment in history.”

“The international community has come together for a landmark global biodiversity agreement that provides some hope that the crisis facing nature is starting to get the attention it deserves,” he said.

“Moose, sea turtles, parrots, rhinos, rare ferns and ancient trees, butterflies, rays, and dolphins are among the million species that will see a significantly improved outlook for their survival and abundance if this agreement is implemented effectively.”

The CEO of campaign group Avaaz, Bert Wander, cautioned: “It’s a significant step forward in the fight to protect life on Earth, but on its own it won’t be enough. Governments should listen to what science is saying and rapidly scale up ambition to protect half the Earth by 2030.”

– Indigenous rights –

The text pledges to safeguard the rights of Indigenous people as stewards of their lands, a key demand of campaigners.

But observers noted it pulled punches in other areas — for example, only encouraging businesses to report their biodiversity impacts rather than mandating them to do so.

The 23 targets in the accord also include saving hundreds of billions of dollars by cutting environmentally destructive farming subsidies, reducing the risk from pesticides and tackling invasive species.

– Funding fight –

At times, the talks looked at risk of collapsing as countries squabbled over money.

How much the rich countries will send to the developing world, home to most of the planet’s biodiversity, was the biggest sticking point.

Developing countries had been seeking the creation of a new, bigger fund for aid from the Global North. But the draft text instead suggested a compromise: creating a fund under the existing Global Environment Facility (GEF).

That concern was echoed by the Democratic Republic of Congo, home to the Congo Basin, a rich haven of biodiversity.

Current financial flows for nature to the developing world are estimated at around $10 billion per year.

A DRC delegate spoke up in the plenary to demand annual funding rise to $100 billion — but Huang declared the framework passed, angering DRC’s allies.

To test the effectiveness of this defence, Sugiura's team offered up male mason wasps to two different kinds of frogs to see how the spikes were deployed

An accidental sting has helped Japanese scientists prove some male wasps have a rather unusual predator defence weapon: penis spikes.

While wasps are known for their prickly attacks, only females have a real sting in their tails. Their male counterparts generally evade predators by mimicking the fairer sex.

Scientists had theorised that some male wasps might have other defence mechanisms, including perhaps deploying their genital spikes.

“However, the evidence was lacking,” explained Shinji Sugiura, an ecologist at Japan’s Kobe University.

Sugiura studies animal anti-predator defences but it was only by chance that he investigated the unusual male wasp mechanism, after his graduate student and co-author reported being stung by a mason wasp.

“I tried to be stung after hearing her experience,” Sugiura told AFP.

“Because I had believed male wasps as harmless, I was very surprised to experience the pain.”

Female wasps sting via an ovipositor, a tube-like protrusion that deposits eggs but can also deliver a venomous riposte.

Male wasps lack the organ but are equipped with two large spikes that sit either side of their penis.

To test the effectiveness of this defence, Sugiura’s team offered up male mason wasps to two different kinds of frogs to see how the spikes were deployed.

“Male wasps were frequently observed to pierce the mouth or other parts of frogs with their genitalia while being attacked,” Sugiura reported in research published Tuesday in the Current Biology journal.

The attacks are documented in a video that shows an unfortunate frog trying repeatedly to chomp down on a wasp, before using its front feet to pull the stinging insect out of its mouth.

Pond frogs happily ate all the males, as well as stinging females, but over a third of tree frogs rejected the male wasps after being stung.

When the experiment was repeated with the genital spikes removed from the wasps, the tree frogs no longer held back and ate them without hesitation.

“The difference was statistically significant. Even a small difference of survival could cause the evolution of anti-predator devices in insects,” Sugiura said.

There has been little research on insect genitalia outside of its role in reproduction, according to Sugiura, though the wasp defence mechanism is not entirely without precedent.

Previous research has found, for example, that some species of hawkmoth use their genitalia to emit ultrasound that jams bat sonar.

Sugiura is no stranger to uncovering some of the weirdest ways animals evade their predators.

He has documented how some beetles can escape after being swallowed, by following the digestive tract to its logical conclusion and escaping from the anus.

And he has shown that other insects can make any unfortunate toad that has eaten them vomit them back up.

He now hopes to expand his current research to determine whether other wasp families have the same genital spike defence mechanism.

Kepler-1658b's orbit is being shortened by the tides, in a similar process to how Earth's oceans rise and fall every day

For the first time astronomers have identified a planet that is spiralling towards a cataclysmic collision with its ageing sun, potentially offering a glimpse into how Earth could end one day.

In a new study published on Monday, a team of mostly US-based researchers said they hope the doomed exoplanet Kepler-1658b can help shed light on how worlds die as their stars get older.

Kepler-1658b, which is 2,600 light years from Earth, is known as a “hot Jupiter” planet.

While similar in size to Jupiter, the planet orbits its host star an eighth of the distance between our Sun and Mercury, making it far hotter than the gas giant in our own Solar System.

Kepler-1658b’s orbit around its host star takes less than three days — and it is getting shorter by around 131 milliseconds a year, according to the study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

“If it continues spiralling towards its star at the observed rate, the planet will collide with its star in less than three million years,” said Shreyas Vissapragada, a postdoc at the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and the study’s lead author.

“This is the first time we’ve observed direct evidence for a planet spiralling towards its evolved star,” he told AFP. 

An evolved star has entered the “subgiant” phase of the stellar life cycle, when it starts expanding and becoming brighter.

Kepler-1658b’s orbit is being shortened by the tides, in a similar process to how Earth’s oceans rise and fall every day.

This gravitational push-and-pull can work both ways — for example the Moon is very slowly spiralling away from Earth.

– Earth’s ‘ultimate adios’? –

So could Earth be heading towards a similar doom?

“Death-by-star is a fate thought to await many worlds and could be the Earth’s ultimate adios billions of years from now as our Sun grows older,” the Center for Astrophysics said in a statement.

Vissapragada said that “in five billion years or so, the Sun will evolve into a red giant star”. 

While the tidally-driven processes seen on Kepler-1658b “will drive the decay of the Earth’s orbit towards the Sun,” that effect could be counter-balanced by the Sun losing mass, he said.

“The ultimate fate of the Earth is somewhat unclear,” he added.

Kepler-1658b was the first exoplanet ever observed by the Kepler space telescope, which launched in 2009. However it took nearly a decade of work before the planet’s existence was confirmed in 2019, the Center for Astrophysics said.

Over 13 years, astronomers were able to observe the slow but steady change in the planet’s orbit as it crossed the face of its host star.

One “big surprise” was that the planet itself is quite bright, Vissapragada said. 

Previously it had been thought this was because it is a particularly reflective planet, he said. 

But now the researchers believe the planet itself is far hotter than anticipated, possibly due to the same forces that are driving it towards its star.

France is curbing single-use plastic in fast-food restaurants

Fast-food eateries in France will soon no longer be able to use disposable containers, plates, cups and tableware for clients eating in, the latest measure from a 2020 law to combat waste and encourage recycling.

Restaurants have been preparing for months to implement a rule that comes into force on January 1, which for many has upended business models based on single-use packaging and utensils, both for eating in and for take-out.

The roughly 30,000 fast-food outlets in France serve six billion meals a year, generating an estimated 180,000 tons of waste.

“It’s an emblematic measure that if properly implemented will make a very concrete difference for people — it definitely goes in the right direction,” said Moira Tourneur of non-profit Zero Waste France.

But the law has drawn criticism from the European Paper Packaging Alliance (EPPA), which argues that most single-use containers are made of renewable resources and have a recycling rate of 82 percent across the European Union.

It also says making and washing durable items consumes more energy and water, defeating a purpose of the environmental cause.

Restaurants have noted as well that clients often take reusable cups with them after a meal or end up throwing plates and cutlery in the trash instead of returning them.

– ‘Rethink everything’ –

After several months of testing, the Subway sandwich chain found it needed to mount a “public awareness effort” with franchise operators that included new posters to inform clients to reuse tableware, a spokeswoman told AFP.

At a McDonald’s in the Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret, manager Maria Varela said they needed to hire an additional dishwasher and more hosts to explain that plates, knives and forks must now be separated from trash.

“At first it was very complicated, both at the counter and with table service,” she said, noting that the kitchen had to be remodelled to cope with the new requirements.

“Everything that was in cardboard is now in reusable plastic. We had to rethink everything in the kitchen, separate take-out from on-site orders, create new storage space.”

Pressure groups worry the additional requirements might lead fast-food operators to resist.

Several including Surfrider, Zero Waste France and No Plastic in My Sea have urged clients to “sanction the chains that don’t respect the law” by taking their business elsewhere.

“I didn’t know about this but it’s good that it’s mandatory,” said Tom Fresneau, 16, who was eating a burger with a friend at the McDonald’s outside the French capital.

“But it does cost more than paper and cardboard, so I understand if it’s problematic for the smaller fast-food restaurants that might have to raise their prices,” he said.

Many activists want to make sure Indigenous rights are not trampled in the name of conservation — previous efforts to safeguard land have seen communities marginalized or displaced in what has been dubbed "green colonialism"

After years of negotiations, the world has agreed a landmark deal to protect vanishing species and ecosystems, dubbed a “peace pact with nature” at the UN meeting in Montreal called COP15.

Here are some of its strengths, as well as where it fell short.

– ’30 by 30′ –

The cornerstone of the agreement is the so-called 30 by 30 goal — a pledge to protect 30 percent of the world’s land and seas by 2030.

Currently, only about 17 percent of land and seven percent of oceans are protected. The oceans target had reportedly been opposed by some countries but made it into the final text.

And some experts had said 30 percent is a low aim, insisting that protecting 50 percent would be better. 

– Indigenous rights –

About 80 percent of the Earth’s remaining biodiverse land is currently managed by Indigenous people, and it’s broadly recognized that biodiversity is better respected on Indigenous territory.

Activists wanted to make sure their rights are not trampled in the name of conservation — previous efforts to safeguard land have seen Indigenous communities marginalized or displaced in what has been dubbed “green colonialism.”

In the end, Indigenous rights were addressed throughout the text, including in areas covered by the 30 by 30 pledge — safeguarding Indigenous peoples’ right to remain stewards of land they use and ensuring they are not subject to mass evictions.

The International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity praised the text for its “strong language on respect for the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.”

– Finance – 

Finance remained the overriding question.

Developing countries say developed nations grew rich by exploiting their resources and the South should be paid to preserve its ecosystems.

In the end, the text approves the objective for rich countries to provide “at least US$20 billion per year by 2025, and … at least US$30 billion per year by 2030,” approximately double and then triple the current international aid for biodiversity.

It also includes new language that mentions funding from “developed countries, and from countries that voluntarily assume obligations of developed country parties,” which a Western source told AFP was meant to involve the United States.

Washington is not formally a part of the Convention on Biological Diversity but supportive of its goals.

Developing countries were also seeking a new funding mechanism, as a signal of the rich world’s commitment to this goal, but developed nations said it would take several years to create. 

In the end, a halfway solution was adopted: creating a “trust fund” within an existing financial mechanism called the Global Environment Facility, as a stepping stone to a new fund in the future.

– What was missing –

An overriding concern by campaigners was that the final text did not contain enough “milestones” — key statistical measures countries should achieve before the year 2050. 

For example, the text says human-induced extinction of known threatened species is halted, and, by 2050, extinction rate and risk of all species are reduced tenfold — but there aren’t targets that countries must hit before that year.

Also watered down was a mandate for businesses to assess and report on the biodiversity impacts — instead they are merely “encouraged” to do so.

Chinese Environment Minister Huang Runqiu declared the historic nature accord adopted

Countries approved a historic deal to reverse decades of environmental destruction threatening the world’s species and ecosystems at a marathon UN biodiversity summit early Monday.

The chair of the COP15 nature summit, Chinese Environment Minister Huang Runqiu, declared the deal adopted at a plenary session in Montreal that ran into the wee hours and banged his gavel, sparking loud applause from assembled delegates.

In doing so he overruled an objection from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which had refused to back the text, demanding greater funding for developing countries as part of the accord.

After four years of fraught negotiations, more than 190 other states rallied behind the Chinese-brokered accord aimed at saving Earth’s lands, oceans and species from pollution, degradation and the climate crisis.

“We have in our hands a package which I think can guide us all to work together to hold and reverse biodiversity loss, to put biodiversity on the path of recovery for the benefit of all people in the world,” Huang told the assembly.

His Canadian counterpart and host Steven Guilbeault called it a “historic step.”

– Biggest conservation deal ever –

The deal pledges to secure 30 percent of the planet as a protected zone by 2030, stump up $30 billion in yearly conservation aid for the developing world and halt human-caused extinctions of threatened species.

Environmentalists have compared it to the landmark plan to limit global warming to 1.5C under the Paris agreement, though some warned that it did not go far enough.

Brian O’Donnell of the Campaign for Nature called it “the largest land and ocean conservation commitment in history.”

“The international community has come together for a landmark global biodiversity agreement that provides some hope that the crisis facing nature is starting to get the attention it deserves,” he said.

“Moose, sea turtles, parrots, rhinos, rare ferns and ancient trees, butterflies, rays, and dolphins are among the million species that will see a significantly improved outlook for their survival and abundance if this agreement is implemented effectively.”

The CEO of campaign group Avaaz, Bert Wander, cautioned: “It’s a significant step forward in the fight to protect life on Earth, but on its own it won’t be enough. Governments should listen to what science is saying and rapidly scale up ambition to protect half the Earth by 2030.”

– Indigenous rights –

The text pledges to safeguard the rights of Indigenous people as stewards of their lands, a key demand of campaigners.

But observers noted it pulled punches in other areas — for example, only encouraging businesses to report their biodiversity impacts rather than mandating them to do so.

The 23 targets in the accord also include saving hundreds of billions of dollars by cutting environmentally destructive farming subsidies, reducing the risk from pesticides and tackling invasive species.

– Funding fight –

At times, the talks looked at risk of collapsing as countries squabbled over money.

How much the rich countries will send to the developing world, home to most of the planet’s biodiversity, was the biggest sticking point.

Developing countries had been seeking the creation of a new, bigger fund for aid from the Global North. But the draft text instead suggested a compromise: creating a fund under the existing Global Environment Facility (GEF).

That concern was echoed by the Democratic Republic of Congo, home to the Congo Basin, a rich haven of biodiversity.

Current financial flows for nature to the developing world are estimated at around $10 billion per year.

A DRC delegate spoke up in the plenary to demand annual funding rise to $100 billion — but Huang passed the accord, angering DRC’s allies.

The United States is not a signatory to the biodiversity convention due to resistance from Republican senators. US President Joe Biden supports the deal and launched his own “30 by 30” plan domestically, while the United States pays into the GEF to assist developing countries.

The COP15 deal pledges to secure 30 percent of the planet as a protected zone by 2030

Countries approved a historic deal to reverse decades of environmental destruction threatening the world’s species and ecosystems at a marathon UN biodiversity summit early Monday.

The chair of the COP15 nature summit, Chinese Environment Minister Huang Runqiu, declared the deal adopted at a late-night plenary session in Montreal and struck his gavel, sparking loud applause from assembled delegates.

In doing so he overruled an objection from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which had refused to back the text, demanding greater funding for developing countries as part of the accord.

After four years of fraught negotiations, more than 190 other states rallied behind the Chinese-brokered accord aimed at saving the lands, oceans and species from pollution, degradation and the climate crisis.

The deal pledges to secure 30 percent of the planet as a protected zone by 2030 and to stump up $30 billion in yearly conservation aid for the developing world.

Environmentalists have compared the accord to the landmark plan to limit global warming to 1.5C under the Paris agreement, though some earlier warned that it did not go far enough.

Brian O’Donnell of the Campaign for Nature called it “the largest land and ocean conservation commitment in history.”

“The international community has come together for a landmark global biodiversity agreement that provides some hope that the crisis facing nature is starting to get the attention it deserves,” he said.

“Moose, sea turtles, parrots, rhinos, rare ferns and ancient trees, butterflies, rays, and dolphins are among the million species that will see a significantly improved outlook for their survival and abundance if this agreement is implemented effectively.”

Marco Lambertini, head of the Worldwide Fund for Nature, said ahead of the approval sessions: “It is the equivalent to 1.5C in climate and vital to catalyzing action toward a nature-positive world and holding everyone accountable.

“However, there still remain several loopholes, weak language, and timelines around actions that aren’t commensurate with the scale of the nature crisis we’re all witnessing, and importantly may not add up to achieve this shared global goal.”

– Aid boost –

The text calls on wealthy countries to increase financial aid to the developing world to $20 billion annually by 2025, rising to $30 billion per year by 2030, while ensuring 30 percent of land and sea areas are effectively conserved and managed by the end of this decade.

It pledges to safeguard the rights of Indigenous people as stewards of their lands, a key demand of campaigners.

But it pulled punches in other areas — for example, only encouraging businesses to report their biodiversity impacts rather than mandating them to do so.

The 23 targets in the accord also include cutting environmentally destructive farming subsidies, reducing the risk from pesticides and tackling invasive species.

– Funding dispute –

At times, the talks looked at risk of collapsing as countries squabbled over money.

The issue of how much money the rich countries will send to the developing world, home to most of the planet’s biodiversity, was the biggest sticking point.

Developing countries, spearheaded by Brazil, had been seeking the creation of a new fund to signal the Global North’s commitment to the cause. But the draft text instead suggested a compromise: creating a fund within an existing mechanism, called the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

Brazilian delegate Braulio Dias, speaking on behalf of the incoming government of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, had called for “better resource mobilization” — technical speak for more aid to developing countries, a concern echoed by the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Current financial flows for nature to the developing world are estimated at around $10 billion per year.

Beyond the moral implications, there is the question of self-interest: $44 trillion of economic value generation — more than half the world’s total GDP — depends on nature and its services.

The United States is not a signatory to the biodiversity convention due to resistance from Republican senators. US President Joe Biden supports the deal and launched his own “30 by 30” plan domestically, while the United States pays into the GEF to assist developing countries.

China chaired the conference but it was held in Canada because of China’s strict Covid rules.