The work ahead In addition to historic moments, COP16 brought some disappointments to the WCC delegation and other faith-based and civic groups. COP16 failed to deliver on a broader global biodiversity fund and resource mobilization strategy. According to studies, nearly $100 billion is needed to safeguard biodiversity. Developed countries are missing commitments to provide $20 billion annually in international biodiversity financing by 2025. Pledges to a Global Biodiversity Framework Fund, an interim funding mechanism, totaled $407 million. Athena Peralta, director of the WCC Commission on Climate Justice and Sustainable Development, said that it is critical to invest in our ecosystems. “Wealthy nations who are more responsible for biodiversity loss and have benefited the most from global development must step up and fund biodiversity restoration,” she said. By the end of COP16, 44 revised National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans were submitted and 119 parties submitted revised national targets, representing around 63% of countries. Peter Prove, director of the WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, said that, given the latest evidence of accelerating biodiversity loss, even in protected areas, states attending COP16 should have been galvanized by an acute sense of urgency and responsibility. “But two years after the Kunming-Montreal agreement on a Global Biodiversity Framework, only 60% of states have formulated National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans to implement their commitments under the Global Biodiversity Framework.” Practical actions
Yet the WCC delegation came away with a rejuvenated resolve to suggest and inspire practical actions to increase biodiversity. Dr Louk Andrianos, WCC consultant for Care for Creation, Sustainability, and Climate Justice, urged acting on all levels of society and churches to share hope with creation. “We need to repent and change our greedy systemic and individual behaviour when producing, distributing, and consuming natural resources,” he said. “Meat overconsumption, plastic overuse, chemical intensive farming, and genetic manipulations of species for corporate benefits are example of the ongoing war of human beings with nature.” WCC advocates for creation care and justice at start of triple COP journey (WCC news release, 24 October 2024) WCC, ACT Alliance, and Lutheran World Federation issue joint call to action for biodiversity (WCC news release, 30 October 2024) |
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