Nation looks for balanced targets at COP 15 conference

China is looking forward to seeing ambitious but balanced conservation targets that fully consider developing countries' capabilities at this year's United Nations biodiversity conference, a senior Ministry of Ecology and Environment official said.

The conference, known as COP 15, was originally scheduled to be held in Kunming, Yunnan's provincial capital, in October. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, it was postponed to May.

"In light of current circumstances, there are still uncertainties over COP 15," Cui Shuhong, director-general of nature and eco-conservation at the ministry, told a news conference on Thursday.

Cui said China is in close communication with the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity on when and how the conference will he held.

Preparations for the conference are well underway, "with no letting up in efforts or compromising work targets", he said.

With the theme Ecological Civilization－Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth, the conference is tasked with elaborating on the post-2020 global biodiversity framework and identifying global biodiversity protection goals up to 2030.