Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Canada, right, speaks during the opening news conference of COP15, the UN Biodiversity Conference, in Montreal, Tuesday, December 6, 2022, as Huang Runqiu, President, COP15 and Minister of Ecology and Environment of China looks on. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
MONTREAL – Negotiators at a global conference on saving the world’s biodiversity are sharpening their focus on how to pay for it, as environment ministers from around the globe converge in Montreal for the final days of COP15.
Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says setting ambitious targets for preserving land and water won’t help if there isn’t adequate funding.
He acknowledges reaching an agreement on how developed countries can help pay for biodiversity projects in poorer ones has been a tough slog.
Guilbeault says there’s more to a deal than just a dollar figure.
Delegates have to also agree on how the money would be used, how it would be accounted for and even what financial institution would handle the transfer.
Estimates on how much money would be required range from about $200 billion a year to more than $700 billion.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 13, 2022.
