U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity, COP 15 Commences in Canada

U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity, COP 15 Commences in Canada

• The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, also called as Conference of Parties (COP-15) commenced in Montreal, Canada on 7 December 2022. 
• The two-weeklong conference (7-19 December 2022) was originally scheduled to be held in Kunming, China in October but was shifted to Montreal, Canada due to covid situation in China.
• During COP15, negotiators are expected to finalize and sign a document called the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. One can think of it as the Paris agreement but for biodiversity — a strategy with nearly two dozen measurable targets designed to conserve ecosystems and the benefits they provide, such as food and plant-derived medicines.
• Parties to the CBD normally meet every two years at events known as the Conference of the Parties, or COP, to check in on progress and update the terms of the contract. That’s what’s starting now in Montreal (COP15 was supposed to begin in 2020, but it got delayed several times due to Covid; the first part of the event took place last year in Kunming, China). The first COP -1 was held in Nassau, Bahamas 1994.