The diplomatic mission of the European Union (EU) in Colombia has been supporting the development of a series of events prior to the biodiversity summit (COP16) that will be held in Cali between October 21 and November 1. Among these events stand out the Latin American Summit of Rural Youth, the National Summit of Mayors in Florence and the International Meeting of Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon Basinamong others.
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“The events organized towards and during COP16 are built so that the voices of ancestral knowledge, science, innovation, the business sector, among others, converge in Cali to build together nothing less than a new economy, in peace.” with nature and with human beings,” Gilles Bertrand, EU ambassador in Colombia, told this newspaper.
What are the expectations that the European Union has for this COP16?
The international objective of the Cali COP is to follow up on the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework that was agreed upon two years ago. It is the key moment for all countries on the planet to present tangible plans and commitments to meet each of the 23 goals for the protection, restoration and sustainable use of biodiversity. It is also an important time to agree on the monitoring of these results, financing mechanisms for biodiversity, and the redistribution of the benefits of genetic resources.
We share Colombia’s ambition to make this international meeting a “people’s COP.” The European Union and its member countries are convinced that the conservation of nature and biodiversity is done with people. In the most remote regions and the most strategic ecosystems of the country: the mangroves, the moors, the jungles and the various agricultural frontiers, we have a long tradition of cooperation with indigenous, Afro-descendant, peasant and other communities, particularly with women’s groups. and rural youth. This extensive experience has shown that it is possible to profoundly transform the rural economy, and live much better from nature by protecting it and using it in a sustainable way.
The EU has been very active with the different events that precede this biodiversity summit. Tell us a little about the activities you have carried out and how you see the welcoming environment in Colombia for the summit.
The events organized towards and during COP16 are built so that the voices of ancestral knowledge, science, innovation, the business sector, among others, converge in Cali, to build together nothing less than a new economy, in peace with nature and with human beings. The idea is that these actors meet, listen to each other and influence the negotiations.
We share Colombia’s ambition to make this international meeting a “people’s COP.” The European Union and its member countries are convinced that the conservation of nature and biodiversity is done with people.
To give an example, the Latin American Summit of Rural Youth that we accompanied in Nuquí at the end of August, with the Ministry of Environment and the Italian Cooperation Agency, brought together more than 150 young people from all regions of Colombia and other countries on the continent. . They built a manifesto that covers all biodiversity issues and expresses clear demands of the incoming generation, who will live with the consequences of the decisions that are made, or not made, now.
Likewise, we have accompanied the National Summit of Mayors in Florence, the International Meeting of Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon Basin, the meeting on financing biodiversity, or the summit of environmental defenders. This great dialogue between countries and regions seems essential to us to stimulate international debate and raise the level of ambition to stop the loss of biodiversity.
What are the main challenges that in your opinion this summit in Cali has?
COP16 in Cali will have the task of evaluating the quality of national strategies and action plans for biodiversity and their alignment with the ambitious commitment that was signed in 2022. It is the moment when we must all move from words to actions , with clear, effective and measurable national objectives and policies.
Another challenge is ensuring adequate and equitable financing. The regions richest in biodiversity need resources to protect it, particularly developing countries. The European Union is already the largest provider of biodiversity support to other regions of the world, but our ambition is for the modalities for a fund to manage these financial flows to be agreed in Cali. And also a mechanism to guarantee a fair distribution of economic benefits derived from genetic resources, for example, the genetic sequencing of plants used in the pharmaceutical sector, ensuring the rights of local communities.
Do you believe that Colombia can articulate regional and international efforts to meet the goals that have been set for this COP?
Colombia will assume the presidency of the Convention on Biological Diversity for the next two years. The country has been at the forefront of defending biodiversity and fighting climate change. He is an environmental leader on the Latin American continent and has demonstrated his ability to coordinate regional and international efforts for many years. For all this, we think that Colombia is the “natural” host for this event, and we have been working hand in hand with the country and the Government since the beginning of the organization of COP16.
Does the EU have any commitments that it will announce at this COP16?
Our commitment to biodiversity is not new and we will reaffirm it, among others, with ambitious goals on our continent, and supporting innovative financing mechanisms for developing countries to achieve their own protection and restoration goals. We will also support better integration of biodiversity in sectors such as agriculture, commerce or fishing.
With Latin America and the Caribbean, through our Global Gateway strategy, we have the ambition to reinforce the necessary investments in terms of clean energy, digital transition, sustainable transportation and nature-based solutions. This is an essential part of our bi-regional investment agenda between the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean, which we agreed on at the EU-CELAC Summit in July 2023 and we will strengthen at next year’s Summit, which will also take place in Colombia.
What are the experiences that the EU can bring to this summit for other countries to learn and implement?
What we can share is our own experience of building social commitments around the European Green Deal, which places biodiversity at the center of climate action. These processes are not easy, in Europe as in all regions of the world, but we have been pioneers in the promotion of circular, decarbonized and sustainable economies, which operate within the ecological limits of the planet.
I believe that we have come a long way toward mutual understanding with other countries on the planet in terms of biodiversity, climate, the fight against desertification and ocean management. On other fronts, we know we need more efforts, particularly to reach a global agreement on plastics before the end of this year.
We will take the opportunity of COP16 to present, in the green zone and the blue zone, the transformative actions that we have supported in Europe, in Colombia, in Latin America and in the rest of the planet. We want to share, but also learn: it is urgent that solutions be accelerated and widespread that allow the planet to return to the path towards sustainability.
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