MEDIA STATEMENT
G7 Nations Endorse Protecting 30% of Land and Oceans by 2030
WASHINGTON, DC (21 May 2021) — Today, G7 Ministers responsible for Climate and Environment issued a sweeping communiqué laying out an urgent action plan for how to tackle the twin biodiversity and climate crises.
In the communiqué, they assert their commitment to “conserving or protecting at least 30% of global land and at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030 to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 and address climate change.” They further urge that Indigenous Peoples, and local communities be included as “full partners in the implementation of this target.”
This historic call for greater and more coordinated climate and biodiversity action comes in the leadup to a meeting in Kunming, China this year, when delegates from 190 countries will agree on an action plan for ending the biodiversity crisis that can address the accelerating loss of species and protect the vital ecosystems that safeguard human health and economic security.
The 30x30 target has been included as a central element in the United Nations draft plan that parties have developed - called the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework - which will be the basis for negotiations in Kunming.
Brian O’Donnell, Head of Campaign for Nature, said:
“The commitment from G7 countries to support protecting and conserving 30% of the planets’ lands and oceans by 2030 is a breakthrough moment. All nations must work together to address the crisis facing nature with the same urgency and priority as they are putting towards the climate crisis. Conserving habitat and confronting the overexploitation of our oceans will help abate the largest threats to biodiversity globally and prevent the loss of species as well as reduce the threat of future pandemics.
The G7 countries can advocate for a rights-based approach to conservation that promotes the leadership, tenure and rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities as a pathway to advance the 30x30 goal. For the G7 30x30 commitment to succeed, nations must follow through with significant increases in funding for international nature conservation.
Campaign for Nature is grateful for the leadership of G7 nations for their support for the 30x30 goal.”
Enric Sala, Explorer-in Residence at National Geographic and the author of The Nature of Nature: Why We Need the Wild said:
"Today's G7 statement is a landmark one. Countries are not kicking the can down the road any more but are acting on overwhelming scientific evidence that urges us to protect at least 30% of the planet by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The benefits of acting now far exceed the costs of doing nothing - including securing humanity's life support system.”
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The Campaign for Nature works with scientists, Indigenous Peoples, and a growing coalition of over 100 conservation organizations around the world who are calling on policymakers to commit to clear and ambitious targets to be agreed upon at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Kunming, China in 2021 to protect at least 30% of the planet by 2030 and working with Indigenous leaders to ensure full respect for Indigenous rights.
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