The three-day meeting in Rome on biological diversity, which has just ended, was lagging behind from the start. It was supposed to address important issues that were not resolved in November.
The underlying agreement from 2022 is that countries should protect 30 percent of land and sea areas by 2030. However, there has been a lack of common rules and guidelines for how this should be implemented and financed.
That countries have agreed on a plan for financing is central to the continued work on protecting biological diversity, says Björn-Ola Linnér, professor of international climate policy at Linköping University.
Among other things, decisions have been made on how countries should mobilize resources to achieve the goals set out in previous frameworks. They have also agreed on a process for implementing previously set goals and what should be measured.
There are 28 mandatory indicators to be reported and a number of voluntary ones. It's about, among other things, red-listed species, genetic diversity, and the use of pesticides, says Malte Timpte, international unit administrator at the Environmental Protection Agency, who was present in Rome.
But despite the joy, much work remains, including exactly where the money will come from and where it will go.
Countries also need to concretize what they will do at home. Several months after the deadline, only about 35 percent of countries have submitted their action plans – Sweden is not one of them.
How countries work to protect nature and water varies greatly depending on natural types and conditions, everyone needs to formulate what they will do, says Linnér.
He points out that decisions made at the COP meeting function as a catalyst for us to move forward in climate work and protecting biological diversity.
The work must now take place locally, in companies, in cities, and within agriculture, and not least among us consumers. International cooperation provides a platform, but it cannot solve the crisis on its own, says Linnér.
The meeting has not least a symbolic significance. That the world's countries can agree on things in a time marked by great geopolitical challenges is crucial.
It's a great joy and relief that we can still agree on things in a global context, says Malte Timpte.
