COP15 agreement marks vital progress on biodiversity

Reacting to the outcomes from COP15, the international biodiversity summit, Nick Molho, Executive Director at the Aldersgate Group, said: “The agreement today on the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework represents a great step forward in galvanising international action on protecting and restoring biodiversity. In particular, it is welcome to see agreement on protecting 30 per cent of land and sea by 2030, halving food waste, as well as the commitment of $200bn a year in domestic and international biodiversity-related funding from both public and private sources.

Nick Molho added: “In terms of next steps, countries must now embed these commitments in domestic policy and unlock the role of the private sector. This should include setting a clear policy and regulatory framework, and working with the business community to drive investment in nature, which will be critical to provide clarity for businesses and create a level playing field. The UK has taken a welcome step in this regard by publishing legally binding long-term targets on nature restoration, albeit some of these will require strengthening over time. As a next step, the UK Government must publish an ambitious environmental improvement plan which contains tangible policies to drive public and private investment over the next five years in biodiversity and nature restoration as well as greater resource efficiency.”