The 16th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity (COP16), which opened on October 21, ended in failure this Saturday, November 2 in Cali, in western Colombia.
The COP16 biodiversity ended this Saturday, November 2 in Cali, failing to obtain an agreement on the financing of the roadmap that humanity has set to stop the destruction of nature by 2030.
The negotiations were suspended in the morning by the Colombian president of the United Nations summit when Susana Muhamad noted that she had lost the quorum of delegates, who had left to catch their plane after a sleepless night in plenary.
Crisps over the establishment of a monitoring mechanism
“It’s over,” Susana Muhamad told AFP, from the stand where she was congratulating herself with her teams.
Despite the failure of crucial negotiations on financing and on a monitoring mechanism, supposed to ensure that countries fulfill their commitments made two years ago in Montreal to save nature.
The Colombian presidency, however, is pleased to have obtained the adoption of decisions which it had made a priority: a reinforced status for indigenous peoples in the biodiversity COPs, a text on the recognition of “Afro-descendants”, and the implementation of a multilateral fund.
The latter aims to share with developing countries the profits made by companies thanks to the digitized genome of plants and animals in their territories.
After more than ten hours of bitter nocturnal debates on Saturday, the countries had finally tackled the most explosive subject of the conference: how to achieve by 2030 the goal of increasing global spending on food to $200 billion per year. save nature, including thirty billion in aid from rich countries.
Twelve days of negotiations
To achieve this, the Colombian presidency presented a road map including the creation of a new fund for nature, which is refused by rich countries, hostile to the multiplication of multilateral development aid funds.
As expected, the speech of Brazil, the first supporter of the Colombian presidency, in response to those of the European Union, Japan and Canada, revealed positions that were still frozen after twelve days of summit in a lush valley of the Andes mountain range.
Panama then asked the Colombian presidency to verify the quorum. This being no longer filled, this is the reason given for suspending the closing plenary.
“Of course this makes the potential weaker and slower” of the UN process, supposed to remedy the nature crisis which threatens the prosperity of humanity, declared Susana Muhamad.
“The Colombian government has mobilized a lot (…) the Colombian people have given everything, (…) but in the end, it depends on the parties and the negotiation process,” she justified, on the verge tears.
Jeanne Bulant with AFP Journalist BFMTV
