Amid disagreements, COP 15 parties agree on biodiversity framework

Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity have essentially agreed upon the structure and core content of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, but differences remain, an official with the Ministry of Ecology and Environment said.

Zhou Guomei, head of the ministry's department of international cooperation, made the remark during a news conference on Monday in the lead-up to the second phase of the 15th meeting of the parties to the convention, which is widely known as COP 15.

The first phase of the largest UN biodiversity gathering in a decade was held in October last year in Kunming, capital of Yunnan province. The event included the issuance of the Kunming Declaration, which called on parties to prioritize biodiversity conservation.

Themed "Ecological Civilization-Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth", the second phase of COP 15 will be held in Montreal from Dec 5 to 17. In this phase, parties will meet to conclude negotiations and decide on the framework.

Huang Runqiu, China's minister of ecology and environment, will serve as the convention's president.

Since 2019, the parties have held four offline meetings. In addition, there have been exchanges and communication via various online and offline mechanisms, Zhou said.

She said parties have reached the consensus that the three goals included in the convention should be implemented in a full and balanced manner, instead of overemphasizing certain parts of them.

The convention, which took effect in 1993, includes three objectives — the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources.

Zhou acknowledged, however, that negotiations between the 196 parties over the post-2020 biodiversity framework haven't been totally smooth, and there are still differences to iron out in some areas.

More communication is still needed on how to balance the three goals and inscribe them into the framework, she said.

She also noted that resource mobilization and financial support for developing nations are key sticking points in negotiations.

Despite the disagreements, many parties have extended their firm support and confidence in the negotiation process with China at the helm, Zhou said.

"We are fully confident" that the international community will echo the theme of COP 15 and demonstrate their wisdom and courage to address these difficulties and divergences, she said.