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World leaders have pledged to clamp down on pollution, adopt sustainable economic systems, and eliminate the dumping of plastic waste into the oceans by mid-century as part of “meaningful action” to stop the destruction of nature on Earth. .
Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel, Justin Trudeau, Jacinda Ardern, and Boris Johnson are among 64 leaders from five continents who warn that humanity is in a state of planetary emergency due to the climate crisis and the rampant destruction of ecosystems that they sustain life. To restore balance with nature, governments and the European Union have made a ten-point commitment to counteract the damage to systems that support human health and well-being.
The commitments include a renewed effort to reduce deforestation, stop unsustainable fishing practices, eliminate environmentally damaging subsidies and begin the transition to sustainable food production systems and a circular economy over the next decade. Leaders describe engagement as a “tipping point” by which future generations will judge their willingness to act on the destruction of the environment.
All signatories to the Leaders for Nature Pledge, launched virtually in New York on Monday, have pledged to put wildlife and climate at the center of post-pandemic economic recovery plans, promising to address the climate crisis. , deforestation, ecosystem degradation and pollution. .
The announcement comes ahead of a major UN biodiversity summit on Wednesday, to be held virtually from New York, and in part during negotiations on a Paris-style international nature agreement. Speaking spaces at this week’s summit are overloaded, with more than 116 heads of state and government asking to address the event.
“Science clearly shows that biodiversity loss, land and ocean degradation, pollution, resource depletion and climate change are accelerating at an unprecedented rate. This acceleration is causing irreversible damage to our life support systems and exacerbating poverty and inequalities, as well as hunger and malnutrition, ”the commitment reads.
“Despite ambitious global agreements and targets for the protection, sustainable use and restoration of biodiversity, and despite many local success stories, global trends are rapidly continuing in the wrong direction. Transformative change is needed – we can’t just carry on as before. “
The leaders also pledge to end environmental crimes and crack down on organized crime groups involved in illegal wildlife and timber trafficking.
Boris Johnson will speak at the pledge launch on Monday.
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. ”
It will also announce that 30% of the UK’s land will be protected for nature by 2030, which means an additional 400,000 hectares will be conserved, the size of the Lake District and South Downs national parks combined.
Other signatories to the pledge are the leaders of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Colombia, Costa Rica, Fiji, Kenya, Seychelles and Mexico. The presidents of the US, Brazil and China, Donald Trump, Jair Bolsonaro and Xi Jinping, have not signed the pledge, despite Xi leading the global talks on biodiversity.
Earlier this month, the UN announced that the world failed to achieve a single goal to curb the loss of the natural world for the second decade in a row, including goals to protect coral reefs, preserve natural habitats and reduce plastic waste and chemicals at levels that do. do not harm ecosystems.
There have been a number of damning reports and studies on the state of nature on Earth in recent weeks, including the WWF’s 2020 Living Planet Report and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), which found global populations of mammals, birds , fish and amphibians. and reptiles fell 68% on average between 1970 and 2016.
UN Biodiversity Director Elizabeth Maruma Mrema welcomed the new commitment from world leaders, describing it as an “inspiring contribution” to the ongoing negotiations due to “the urgency, unity and ambition of the compromise”.
Sir Robert Watson, former chair of the Intergovernmental Platform for Science Policy on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), described the commitment as “outstanding” and praised the links leaders have made between destroying the natural world and the Goals of Sustainable development. But Sir Watson warned of what was possible without the signatures of the major polluters.
“Many of the most important countries in the world that are causing climate change due to their greenhouse gas emissions and / or are destroying their biodiversity, are not signatories of this commitment. Without countries like the United States, Brazil, China, Russia, India and Australia, we cannot achieve the Paris climate goal or stop and ultimately reverse the loss of biodiversity, ”he told The Guardian.
Marco Lambertini, CEO of WWF International, said: “The Leaders’ Commitment to Nature marks a crucial moment in which countries demonstrate real leadership from the highest political level and commit to reversing biodiversity loss by 2030 We call on all leaders to build on this ambition at the next UN summit on biodiversity. “
• This article was amended on September 28, 2020 because Sir Robert Watson is a former president of IPBES, not the current one as stated in a previous version.
Find more coverage on the age of extinction here and follow the biodiversity reporters Phoebe Weston Y Patrick Greenfield on Twitter for the latest news and features
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