Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary General, again stepped up the rhetoric at the openning plenary of the Biodiversity conference in Montreal, calling for a "Peace Pact with Nature".
He articulated the rapid species and ecosystems decline and the costs to humanity of cost measured in lost jobs, hunger, diseases and deaths, and higher prices for water, food and energy.
He focussed on three concrete actions:
- Governments should develop bold national action plans across all ministries, from finance and food, to energy and infrastructure. This includes "plans that re-purpose subsidies and tax breaks away from nature-destroying activities towards green solutions like renewable energy, plastic reduction, nature-friendly food production and sustainable resource extraction. Plans that recognize and protect the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities, who have always been the most effective guardians of biodiversity. And National Biodiversity Finance Plans to help close the finance gap."
- The private sector and business must recognize that profit and protection must go hand-in-hand. That means the food and agricultural industry moving towards sustainable production and natural means of pollination, pest control and fertilization. It means the timber, chemicals, building and construction industries taking their impacts on nature into account in their business plans. It means the biotech, pharmaceutical and other industries that use biodiversity sharing the benefits fairly and equitably. It means tough regulatory frameworks and disclosure measures that end greenwashing, and hold the private sector accountable for their actions across every link of their supply chains. And it means challenging the relentless concentration of wealth and power by few that is working against nature and the real interests of the majority.
- Dveloped countries must provide bold financial support for the countries of the Global South as custodians of our world’s natural wealth.
