The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has called on countries to “go big” in negotiations at Cop15, as the talks to secure the next decade of targets to stop the destruction of nature reach the final stages.
“The most vulnerable countries are home to biodiversity treasures. We need to increase our funding to support them, with no expense spared! France will double its funding to 1 billion euros per year. COP 15 stakeholders: get on board and join the fight!” he tweeted.
The Cop15 president, Huang Runqiu, said he would release a text of the final agreement, known as the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, at 8am Montreal time (1pm UK time) on Sunday, after listening to statements from countries. Another meeting with heads of delegations will then be held later in the day, seemingly after the World Cup final between France and Argentina.
“I feel quite exhausted because this meeting has been going on and on like a marathon, but we are going to see the finishing line soon,” Runqiu said, adding that every minister had been able to discuss policies, and all had made an effort, and supported China. “I hope everyone will come to a consensus which everyone will be able to accept,” he said.
Canada’s environment minister, Steven Guilbeault, said he was on the ground asking countries for “collaboration, compromise and consensus”. He said he was confident an ambitious framework would be agreed. “We have the power to change the course of history for the better,” he said. “Let’s give nature the Paris moment it deserves.”
The creation of a new fund for Earth’s biodiversity appeared on Saturday to be the key dividing line between countries.
In echoes of the division over forming a loss and damage fund at Cop27 in Egypt last month, a group of developing nations are calling for the creation of a new financing mechanism for the conservation of key ecosystems.
Countries from the global north, including the UK, EU member states and Cop15 co-hosts Canada, are calling for ambitious targets on conservation in the final text, including large-scale restoration of nature, protecting 30% of land and sea, and tackling the drivers of wildlife loss such as pesticide use and harmful subsidies.
But several countries from the global south, including Indonesia, Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo, argue that the new conservation targets must be backed by more funding, which they say must be accompanied by the formation of a new biodiversity fund that is separate to the main funding mechanism, the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The group walked out of talks on Wednesday over the issue.
On Saturday, several government ministers said a decision must be taken on the creation of the new biodiversity fund at Cop15, which is scheduled to conclude on Monday.
Virginijus Sinkevičius, the EU commissioner for the environment, had ruled out the creation of a new biodiversity fund as part of the final agreement earlier in the week, but on Friday he said he was open to proposals but the donor base should expand to include countries that have become wealthy in the last 30 years.
“We are the largest funder for biodiversity by far. Others who are earning billions out of the crisis in Europe, if they would at least match the amounts that member states have put in it could mean a major breakthrough,” he said. “It would be great that they [China and Brazil] would play some sort of role. We also have to be clear about the Arab countries. Some of them have really, really achieved completely economic different levels since the agreements were written.”
China, Brazil, India, Mexico and Indonesia are the top five historical recipients from the GEF, and are to feature in the top five for the next $5.3bn (£4.3bn) funding cycle from 2022 to 2026. Many biodiverse nations from Africa, Asia and Latin America argue that they should get more money to pay for conservation.
France had been accused of being a blocker of the new fund by some developing countries, but the minister for ecological transition, Christophe Béchu, told the Guardian on Saturday that this was “fake news”.
“The position of France since January 2021 is to say biodiversity needs money and we have been the first country in the world doubling our commitments for biodiversity. Currently, the question is not about the principle [of creating a new fund] but about some mechanism. And we are not blocking any process,” he said.
Li Shuo, a policy adviser for Greenpeace China who has been following the talks in Montreal, said: “The package will only be unveiled tomorrow, but so far the presidency has followed a process that has kept everybody comfortable. They now need to come up with a package that drives ambition upward for both finance and conservation targets.”
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