Nature is life. “And we are at war against it, it is a war without winners”, noted the Secretary General of the United Nations, at the Conference of the Convention on Biodiversityin Cali, Colombia (COP16). “We have an existential crisis, from which no country is immune. The devastation of it climate change and the loss of biodiversity, pollution, affects every country in the world, whether rich or poor”, he said. Because we stand in “an economy based on obsolete economic models”, António Guterres said this Tuesday.
But Gustavo Petro, the President of Colombia, the host country of COP16, prefaced the march against environmental crises by opening the high-level segment of COP16 — where government officials are asked to make decisions and make commitments. .
He gave a speech against the “greed” that rules the world, which means that there is no talk, for example, of oil, in these major conferences of the United Nations environmental protection conventions, signed by almost every country in the world, and of the effects of exploiting climate of the world… “These bureaucratic interferences guarantee, so to speak, that the interests of greed are heard above the interests of humanity”, he said.
“You cannot solve the climate crisis through profitability or interest rates. We are being fooled and time is running out”, said Gustavo Petro, the first left-wing President of Colombia, who focused his address more on topics discussed at climate summits than on biodiversity and inequalities the capitalist system.
Hunting by nature
One suggestion put forward was the idea of converting many countries’ debts into actions for nature and the climate. “It is something that Zero also considers necessary”, indicated Francisco Ferreira, from the environmental organization Zero, based in Cali. THE for example Portugal and Cape Verde, in the creation of the Climate and Environment Fund, in exchange for the 140 million in debt – approved by the Cape Verdean Parliament this month –, it could be extended to biodiversity.
With the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, signed in 2022, it was established that the richest countries should mobilize 200 billion dollars per year by 2030 (about 185 billion euros), including 20 billion per year by 2025 (around 18 billion euros), for activities to preserve nature and living beings. To ensure that 30% of the planet is protected by 2030. But what has been achieved so far There were 407 million dollars (close to 377 million euros).
President of Colombia Gustavo Petro
ERNESTO GUZMAN JR./EPA
“If we can scale debt conversion, this could be part of the solution, unlocking close to 100 billion dollars in funding for nature and climate”, according to estimates from this new coalition government. They are based on the fact that 60% of the lowest income nations, many of them also the most vulnerable to climate change, are in debt distress, which limits their ability to protect biodiversity or respond to threats climate change – according to data from the World Bank.
Guterres’ main points
António Guterres also called for efforts to unlock funding. “You set the main points of discussion at COP16 in Cali, with a particular emphasis on financing, and he mentioned the need to mobilize 200 billion dollars per year in 2030, from public and private financing”, highlighted Francisco Ferreira.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations also welcomed plans to create a permanent body i biodiversity convention taking into account the knowledge and interests of indigenous and local communities. “We must protect those who protect nature,” he said.
Guterres also emphasized the need for all countries to “present clear, ambitious and detailed plans that match biodiversity targets”. It is worth remembering that Portugal came to Cali without an updated action plan or strategy for nature conservation. “It is vital that all countries, especially Portugal, implement their biodiversity strategy and action plan (only 36 of the 196 countries have delivered this document so far)”, stressed Francisco Ferreira on him.
The wealthiest take more risks
Petro is the President of the second most biodiverse country on the planet – Brazil being the first, and he did not forget to talk about climate COP30, which will be held next year in the Brazilian state of Pará, as a hope for radical change in guiding negotiations on environmental crises.
He spoke about the controversial issue of financing losses and damages for the countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, which are usually the poorest countries in the world, a hot potato of the climate negotiations. “Countries at risk, us? Those that emit the most carbon dioxide are the most dangerous. carbon”, said Gustavo Petro, reversing the usual logic: “Countries that contribute more carbon dioxide do not have a greater risk.[oprincipalgáscom[oprincipalgáscom[oprincipalgáscom[oprincipalgáscomefeito de estufa]?”, he asked.
He proposed a new way of calculating risks, based on an index of carbon dioxide equivalent – a metric used to compare the emissions of different greenhouse gases for their potential global warming. In this way, he argued, the countries with the greatest climate risk should be considered the biggest aviators – instead of the poorest and most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate being seen as a nuisance.
“These are the owners of the world, the centers of world power, who do not mind killing us. What they don’t want to leave the South Americans who migrated after their rivers dried up, the climate fell”, said the president of Colombia, ready to launch the revolution from the pulpit, brandishing a pencil as he spoke . He mentioned the big ones that put pressure on the world: Israel’s bombs on Gaza, the war in Ukraine, China, which is the biggest debt holder in the world, the United States and all its economic power.