COP15

• Conserving nature is foundational to all efforts to combat the triple crises of biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution.
• The goal is to put nature on a path to recovery by 2050, including the development of Canada's 2030 Biodiversity Strategy.
• It will be the first face-to-face ministers' meeting since December's breakthrough COP15, where the world agreed to the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework.
• Canada is also advancing the domestic ban on harmful single-use plastics to help keep plastics out of our natural environment.

• GATINEAU, QC, May 19, 2023 /CNW/ - The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, issued the following statement today:
  "Canadians are a nature-loving people.
• "May 22 is International Day for Biological Diversity, and this year's theme, 'From Agreement to Action: Build Back Biodiversity,' builds on the results of COP15.
• "As a large and biodiversity-rich country, we are driving global action through historic investments and ambition in international negotiations.
• If all of us act on the call of this year's International Day for Biological Diversity, we will build back biodiversity.

• Given the parlous state of nature in Australia, these commitments are important.
• The promises include ending new extinctions, fixing national nature laws and protecting 30% of our land and waters.
• In our view, the budget takes very small steps towards making good on the many government’s promises, but falls well short of what is needed.

A suite of big promises

• In the words of the government’s own report, “the challenges to the existence of the plants and animals that define Australia are bigger than ever”.
• It will also strengthen national nature laws, otherwise known as the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.
• This includes pledges to create ten new Indigenous Protected Areas and double the number of Indigenous Rangers.

Getting tough on environmental laws

• And it will only be effective if new environmental laws – currently being negotiated – give it the powers to prevent further biodiversity loss.
• This body would provide high quality environmental data to support environmental regulation, planning and reporting.
• There is also growing demand for biodiversity data for environmental accounting, business disclosures and the proposed Nature Repair Market.

What else for nature?

• Effective protected area management needs stronger investment and active conservation, including management of invasive species and restoring degrading environments.
• Many of Australia’s existing protected areas are badly damaged by feral pests such as weeds, foxes and feral cats, as well as inappropriate fire regimes and more.
• Our current Commonwealth reserve system is already under-managed and many species and ecosystems are being neglected.
• The budget also contains $28 million to develop a much-needed national climate risk assessment, which includes risks to biodiversity.

Getting our priorities straight

• Research suggests Australia must spend $2 billion a year to save its 1,900 most-imperilled species.
• And an additional $2 billion a year for 30 years could also restore 13 million hectares of Australia’s degraded land.
• Meanwhile, the cost of adequately conserving our World Heritage areas and Ramsar wetlands is not yet known.
• We must seriously examine our national priorities, and demand that Australian governments invest our national wealth in the species and ecosystems we depend on.

• A few weeks after the launch of its Strategic Plan 2023-2027, the Montreal Port Authority (MPA) provided an update on its key objectives for decarbonization, climate change adaptation and land protection.
• These objectives include :
  Scopes 1, 2 and 3 absolute GHG emissions, for which the MPA is fully responsible, covering rail operations on its intermodal network, management of its buildings and vehicle fleet as well as its infrastructure works, will be reduced by 55% by 2030, leading to carbon neutrality by 2035.
• Scope 3 absolute GHG emissions, for which the MPA is not fully responsible, covering those generated by logistics companies located on Port territory, will be reduced by 40% by 2040, leading to carbon neutrality by 2050.
• In pursuit of greater protection of biodiversity, 30% of the territories under the management of the MPA will be protected as a national wildlife area.