While Macron was in Qatar, the United Nations signed a historic biodiversity deal

After 12 days of debate, the member states of the United Nations meeting for COP15 in Montreal have reached an agreement. Authorized “pact of peace with nature” or “Kunmig-Montreal agreement”, aims to halt the destruction of biodiversity. According to AFP, 195 states have pledged to take “urgent measures” to be implemented by the end of the decade.

A historic deal

“It is truly a historic text that has been adopted. It’s balanced, it’s ambitious, it’s a compromise. Now, we will have to move from the text to its application »said European Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius. The flagship measure of this agreement concerns the protection of areas that represent 30% of the planet. Currently only 17% of the lands and 8% of the seas are placed under protection. Member States of the United Nations have also pledged to do so restore 30% of ecosystems it’s at cut pesticide risks in half. They even agreed unlocking $30 billion in annual conservation aid for developing countries.

Enough agreement?

If the signatories of this agreement pride themselves on qualifying it as historic, this does not presume its effectiveness. Will it be enough to protect and restore 30% of the planet to save it? An article published by The world remember that according to scientists, 30% should be just a step. Ultimately, it’s half of the planet that will need to be protected to hopefully save most of the biodiversity.

Another important step: the application of the text. Some members of the government, such as Steven Guilbeault, Canada’s environment minister, applauded the comparison between the Montreal Agreement and the Paris Agreement, which aims to stop global warming. “This analogy is very fitting because we have just taken a significant step towards nature conservation. And without Montreal there is no Paris, because the fight against global warming needs biodiversity”, greeting. Sure, the Paris Agreement was ambitious in setting the limit for global warming at 1.5°C. But recently, a United Nations report also indicated that the “ current policies alone would lead to a 2.8°C rise in temperatures by the end of the century. In other words, signing of the Paris Agreement has not yet doubled. Not to mention that of the “Aichi accords”, signed in 2010 in Japan, the outcome of which is a failure.

The absence of heads of state

It is also difficult not to be pessimistic in the face of the absence of Heads of State at COP15. Only Justin Trudeau, the host country’s Canadian prime minister, was present. On the French side, Emmanuel Macron preferred to go to Qatar to attend the World Cup final which took place at the same time as the UN vote for the historic agreement. With only 3 days difference, the French president made 2 return trips to Doha. On 14 December, for the France-Morocco semi-final, then on 17 December, for the France-Argentina final. According to calculations made by point, these escapades would have generated 480 tonnes of CO2 equivalent, or 53 years of a Frenchman’s carbon footprint. Obviously ecology is not a priority for the French president, which does not bode well for the implementation of the COP15 agreement.

Cover photo: Images by Edgar Bullon via Canva Pro