Are we on a road to nowhere?
We have had ample time to craft a set of goals and targets that will enable us to halt biodiversity loss and IPBES has told us clearly what is required to bring about the changes we need.
Yet every target - already reworked several times - still becomes a Christmas tree full of brackets in no time.
One wonders if all parties share the sense of urgency to create a meaningful agreement; or whether some are even questioning the Convention itself.
In Target 15, at best governments ask businesses to self-regulate and report without oversight or control. Past experience has shown that this leads to human rights abuses and environmental damage without legal consequences.
In Target 16, parties refused to name states as key actors; to use incentives to guide consumer behaviour; or to take measures consistent with biodiversity, and some even questioned the inclusion of overconsumption, a major driver of biodiversity loss.·
For Target 17 we can clearly see that for some Parties at least the discussion is not about the target itself, but about attempting to re-negotiate several important principles, values and decisions of the CBD.
Time is running out in Geneva. This is the opportunity for parties to reconsider tackling issues which seriously affect biodiversity even if they extend beyond traditional environmental remits, for example economic agreements. IPBES has clearly stated that these must be addressed. Now is the time to act accordingly.
By Friedrich Wulf, Friends of the Earth Europe and Antje Lorch, Ecoropa
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