Divisions between developed and developing nations over who should pay to protect Earth’s ecosystems are threatening to derail a UN biodiversity summit after a group of developing countries walked out of discussions overnight.
In echoes of last month’s Cop27 climate summit in Egypt – where countries agreed to set up a new fund to offset global warming loss and damage in vulnerable nations – countries from the global south pulled out of Cop15 talks on Wednesday due to disagreements over finances.
Cop15 host China was hosting crisis talks with heads of delegations on Wednesday to try to resolve the issue, as more strikes continued in a row over whether rich countries such as China and Brazil should be given more help for biodiversity. .
“Nothing changes until the finances change,” said one observer close to the talks.
Some countries in the global south want a new fund created for biodiversity as part of the final deal in Canada, along with increased funding from wealthier nations. But wealthy donor countries in Europe and the global north are opposed to creating a new fund. They say China, Brazil and other major economies, which have grown substantially in the 30 years since UN environmental treaties were signed, should contribute much more.
Currently, UN donor funding for biodiversity is targeted at key regions to protect vital ecosystems and prevent continued damage. China, Brazil, India, Mexico and Indonesia are the top five historic recipients of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and will feature in the top five in the next $5.3bn (£4.3bn) funding cycle of 2022 to 2026. Many biodiverse nations in Africa, Asia and Latin America argue that they should get more money to pay for conservation.
“Developing nations are really upset. Negotiations reached a critical point. Developed countries need to provide more money,” said a negotiator who took part in the standstill.
Another source said: “Negotiations were progressing slowly but steadily through a resource mobilization strategy. We were discussing the most controversial issue about the creation of a new international fund specifically for biodiversity. It was late and the real business of the night was over. But the shutdown sends a clear message that we need to work harder to listen to each other’s realistic red lines and try to reach an agreement.
“Brazil and China are the biggest recipients of GEF funding. Donor countries find it hard to swallow that so much of our foreign aid goes to them. So, we talk about expanding the donor base, that is, adding parties like Brazil and China to the donor list instead of the recipient list.
“There is no doubt that Brazilians are enjoying the ride, making collaborative work more difficult and maybe even actively trying to tear everything down. The Brazilian argument for a new fund is motivated in part by an effort to ensure they create a new system and never have to pay.”
Oscar Soria, campaign director for the advocacy organization Avaaz, which is in Montreal for the talks, said the shutdown shows that developing countries are tired of rich nations’ behavior in financing biodiversity.
“Without money, this will become a weak business and Montreal will be the next Copenhagen. The developing countries left the meeting because they considered it impossible to move forward in the discussions because the developed countries were not willing to compromise, and invited the parties that are obstacles to the discussions to reflect on their positions in order to advance on another point.
“After weeks of acting as if the discussions could move forward without adequately addressing the issue of financial resources, now the parties have finally ended the pretense. The game has finally started,” he said.
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