Threats to the diversity of living organisms and ecosystems are increasing. The biggest risks come from the reckless use of fossil fuels, overpopulation in urban centers, intensive agricultural crops, and pollution caused by harmful fertilizers and heavy metals. According to the international environmental organization World Wide Fund (WWF), in the last 50 years the populations of wild animals have decreased by 73% worldwide, while it is estimated that currently a million species of animals and plants are threatened with extinction, perhaps within the next decades .

In an effort to save what remains, in 2022 representatives of 200 states and governments co-signed in Montreal, Canada, under the auspices of the United Nations, a historic agreement to protect biodiversity. The meeting became known as “COP 15 on Biodiversity”. In the coming days, leaders from around the world, prominent representatives of the business world and NGOs meet again in Cali, Colombia, to review the progress made in the implementation of the agreement, while focusing on sensitive issues such as the financing of the proposed solutions and actions.

As Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, explains to Deutsche Welle, “if we are not able to protect our natural environment, we are undermining our economy and agricultural production. This means that we will not be able to ensure food sufficiency for the population of the earth, which will soon exceed 10 billion…”

National action plans are late

At the 2022 summit, participants had set ambitious goals, such as protecting 30% of the planet’s total surface by the end of the decade (compared to 17% of terrestrial ecosystems and just 8% of oceans in 2022). The Convention on Biodiversity was considered as “historic” as the Paris Agreement on climate protection. As WWF analyst Florian Titsche points out “it was already very difficult to reach an agreement, but the biggest challenge is still ahead of us, as we now have to implement what we have agreed…”

In theory all governments should present to Cali updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (NBSAPs). So far, however, only 23 of the 196 countries that signed the 2022 agreement have met this obligation. Not even Germany has met the deadlines for 2024. Florian Tietze estimates that “Germany does not feel under any pressure to submit its plans, as long as the other countries are not submitting theirs either.” The problem is, of course, that “we only have 5 years ahead of us to keep our promises for 2030. If we don’t start now, we’re not going to succeed.”

Lobby against ecology

An issue that will also be discussed at the Cali summit is the obstacles and organized responses to biodiversity protection. As Astrid Schomaker explains, “obstacles are caused by other industries, which feel that meeting the climate goals may work against them or undermine their competitiveness.”

For example, when the German government had announced the abolition of tax exemptions for agricultural oil, tens of thousands of farmers took to the streets, believing that their economic survival was threatened. So the government has postponed final decisions until 2026, even though the 2022 deal calls for the tax breaks to be phased out.

Who pays for the environment?

The question of who pays for achieving the goals is also expected to be discussed in detail in Cali. At the last meeting, developed industrialized countries pledged to contribute to the protection of biodiversity in developing countries by providing financial aid totaling 25 billion dollars per year until 2025 and, thereafter, 30 billion per year until 2030.

However, according to a recent survey just two countries – Sweden and Norway – have paid their full share, while another 23 countries contributed less than half of the agreed amount. In a press conference a few days before the Cali summit, Colombia’s Environment Minister Susana Muhammad appealed to the rich industrialized countries to keep “even more” their commitments, because “we must send a clear message that we are on the right track.”

WWF partner Florian Titsche believes that political decision-makers will reach an agreement on the strategy of financing actions for the protection of biodiversity. Key aspects of the agreement will be aid to economically weaker countries, the management of state subsidies deemed harmful to the environment and the possibilities for the private sector to participate in financing strategies. “The question is, of course,” points out Florian Titze, “how effective all this can be. Can national governments commit to specific targets?’

“Credits” for biodiversity

In Kali, some innovative actions are expected to be discussed, which cause mixed reactions. A typical example is the so-called biodiversity credit market. In this financing model, companies can compensate for the negative environmental consequences caused by their production, financially supporting ecological organizations or specific projects that restore the environment.

Proponents of this model believe that it provides incentives to protect the environment. On the contrary, his critics argue that this is a clear case of “greenwashing”. This is a common marketing tactic in which a company makes environmental claims that are exaggerated or false in order to gain the respect of eco-conscious consumers.

Edited by: Yiannis Papadimitriou