Canada’s National Observer
October 15, 2021
In the run-up to the UN’s crucial climate conference at month’s end, global leaders have laid the foundation for an international framework to protect nature and halt the collapse of biodiversity worldwide while also curbing global warming and protecting human health.
More than 100 nations committed to the Kunming Declaration on Wednesday, a promise to put the natural world on a path to recovery by 2030.
The world is in a dire situation, facing an era of unprecedented species extinction, said COP15 president and China’s Environment Minister Huang Runqui.
As many as a million species of animals and plants are at peril in coming decades, according to a UN report.
The fate of the natural world and humanity are intertwined, Huang said.
“Biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation pose major risks to human survival and sustainable development.”