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Addressing the virtual signing ceremony today, the Prime Minister will say: “We must turn these words into action and use them to build momentum, to agree on ambitious targets and binding targets.
“We must act now, right now. We cannot afford to hesitate and delay because the loss of biodiversity is happening today and it is happening at an alarming rate. Left unchecked, the consequences will be catastrophic for all of us.
“Extinction is forever, so our action must be immediate.”
The pledge he will sign commits UN countries to end environmental crime, stop the illegal wildlife trade, and commit to sustainable production, consumption and food systems.
The Environment Minister Lord Goldsmith writes in today’s Telegraph that the global state of nature is a “tragedy” and that Britain will use its vast financial and diplomatic powers to ensure that other countries stop destroying the environment.
He said: “Money alone will not solve the problem, but governments have powerful levers to make markets value nature and put a cost to the destruction of the environment.”
“Globally, agriculture causes 80% of deforestation, mainly through the cultivation of basic products such as palm oil, soybeans and cocoa. If the fifty main food-producing countries follow our example and replace their subsidies to the land use with a system that rewards farmers for environmental stewardship, $ 700 billion a year, about four times the global aid budget, would go to support nature. “
