This is a global crisis and we need UK leadership and investment globally.
We spearheaded the Joint Donor Statement, a commitment by 14 countries to collectively increase international biodiversity finance and persuaded the G7 to align all international development Aid, with the ambition of the Global Biodiversity Framework.
Fair
It was UK negotiators, backed by Ministers, who played a critical role in securing agreement for a new Treaty to protect the High Seas and separately a new Treaty to get to grips with the plastic pollution crisis.
None of these successes were deemed particularly newsworthy to the mainstream media but collectively they offer a real chance of addressing what is, objectively, the greatest challenge facing our species. And the UK played a pivotal role in delivering them.
Yet, just two years after the historic agreement in Montreal and just months before the 2025 deadline to deliver on the promise of $20 billion, our country, and, I’m sad to say, our current Government, is not on track to meet our agreed financial obligations.
According to a new report by the global affairs think tank ODI, commissioned by Campaign for Nature, the UK needs to increase its annual nature funding to £1.46 billion ($1.87 billion) a year to meet its fair share of the $20 billion.
Peace
We rank only 14th in nature finance performance, falling behind Australia, Germany, France, and Luxembourg. Our performance isn’t good enough for a country where the environment consistently ranks among the top five public concerns.
Biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate in human history. Today we are losing roughly 45 football fields worth of tropical forest every single minute.
Almost half of all species on earth are undergoing population declines, with up to one million species facing possible extinction, many within decades. And, studies have shown that the UK is one of the worst countries in the world for nature loss, with up to one in six species at risk of extinction.
We are devastating these precious beings and places without appreciating that we rely on them for our own survival. If the rapid pace of biodiversity loss is allowed to continue, we will all suffer, with serious implications for food and water supplies, disease outbreaks, and peace and security globally.
Promises
Yet, it doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom. Healthy ecosystems underpin essential services, support vast numbers of jobs, and drive sustainable economic growth, ensuring long-term prosperity and resilience. Investing in nature delivers a great return on investment for our country and our planet.
Much of the world’s remaining biodiversity is located in developing countries, making them crucial for safeguarding a viable planet.
The UK has a genuine opportunity to reset our position with our partners in the Global South and turn words into deeds. Political parties have a real opportunity to seize the nature agenda.
The good news is that Labour’s David Lammy, Ed Miliband, and Steve Reed have all made promising noises on nature here in the UK, but biodiversity loss doesn’t stop at Dover. This is a global crisis and we need UK leadership and investment globally.
Two years ago, we helped drive the world into ambition on nature. Now we need to keep our promises before it’s too late.
This Author
Lord Zac Goldsmith is a former UK international environment minister and a member of Campaign for Nature’s global steering committee. He is also a former owner and editor of The Ecologist.
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- Source: https://theecologist.org/2024/jul/01/wildlife-crisis-requires-leadership