Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust on COP15 in Montreal, Canada

Last week, COP15, a meeting where world leaders will meet to review the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity — a global agreement on nature conservation — began in Montreal, Canada, writes Erin McDaid, of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust

This important meeting comes hot on the heels of COP 27 in Egypt, which specifically focused on climate change — but it is clear that nature cannot be restored without tackling climate change, and we cannot tackle climate change without restoring nature.

COP stands for ‘Conference of the Parties’.

These conferences are convened by the United Nations to focus on different conventions.

Through the Convention on Biological Diversity, 196 parties aim to agree on 20 global targets designed to halt biodiversity loss.

At COP 15, wildlife trusts want to see bold decisions made to ensure that by 2030, 30% of land and sea is protected for nature’s recovery.

We need our wildlife and wild spaces to be thriving to help us adapt to the changes brought on by climate change.

This requires a legally binding global treaty to halt and reverse the loss of biodiversity by 2030.

To reach our target of 30%, world leaders must make nature a priority. These crucial decisions cannot keep being pushed into the future as time is running out for us to act effectively.

Solving global issues, such as the climate and nature crises, clearly requires collective global action. But, to drive the level and pace of change required, nations need to step up to the plate to demonstrate leadership.

As we seek solutions to problems that affect on all our lives, nations do not have the luxury of sitting it out — waiting for everyone else to show their hand. Some have to be brave and lay their cards on the table now.

The UK must provide effective financial and practical support to communities that need it.

Indigenous communities manage some of the earth’s most precious natural resources; the UK must play its part in protecting these.

The UK also needs to provide finance to global majority countries for nature restoration. These countries are often on the front line of the climate catastrophe.

As well as taking a lead globally, we must make faster progress at home. If we want to be seen as a world leader on climate and nature, it is vital UK government commits to protecting 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030.

In recent years, the UK has sought to position itself as a global leader in this sphere. The government has made great efforts to shout about the UK’s long-term commitments to reducing carbon emissions and to restoring nature-and has frequently called on other nations to step up.

To use another card-playing metaphor, I would suggest the government is in danger of other nations realising that these promises are currently something of a ‘house of cards’ — precariously balanced and at risk of collapse.

The UK government’s rhetoric is not yet backed with robust policies or binding commitments.

The UK delegation charged with securing vital binding commitments at COP15 will be acutely aware that on October 31 the government missed its own legal deadline for publishing targets for issues such as biodiversity loss and air and water pollution — as required by its flagship Environment Act.

While they scramble to publish these targets, a Bill is quietly making its way through Parliament that threatens to undermine our current framework of environmental legislation. If passed without significant change, this Bill could make our UK targets, when they are finally published, impossible to deliver.

A safe, clean, nature-rich environment underpins pretty-much every aspect of our lives and while we should always welcome ambition, particularly in areas as fundamental as climate change and nature loss — we must all seek to hold government to account.

We must speak up to ensure they deliver the policies and progress required here at home. Only then can we truly hold ourselves up as an example in the global community.

Think Global, Act Local

We all have a role to play in tackling climate change and restoring nature and the old adage ‘Think Global, Act Local’, still stands scrutiny. At Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust we’re committed to reducing our carbon footprint as we strive to deliver a wilder Nottinghamshire for all, but we’re also encouraging others to log the actions they are taking as a measure of local progress and as an encouragement for others to act too. You can map your actions for nature and climate on our special webpage nottinghamshirewildlife.org/map-your-action