Opinion: Canada is set to host the COP15 conference on biodiversity, chaired by China. If the two countries work together and signal that protecting and restoring nature is a priority, much could be achieved, carobrouillette and darren_touch argue.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping after taking part in the closing session at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Bali, Indonesia, on Nov. 16, 2022.
While all eyes are currently on COP27 in Egypt, another COP will be taking place in less than a month. International attention will then turn toward two unlikely partners: Canada and China, working together to coordinate a once-in-a-decade global agreement for biodiversity protection and restoration. Although bilateral relations have largely remained frozen, there is hope that cooperation in this area of existential importance to the global commons will help thaw relations.
The destruction of nature is accelerating at an alarming pace. Recent research shows that wildlife populations have crashed by 69 per cent over the last 50 years. Every year, around 10 million hectares of forests are destroyed, and a million species are threatened by extinction. And if this issue wasn’t worrying enough, our ecosystems are essential to limiting warming to 1.5 °C.
Under President Xi Jinping, China has branded itself an “ecological civilization.” Now, as the chair of COP15, China is responsible for driving the outcomes that will shape the next decade of biodiversity conservation. Initially planned for Kunming, China, in 2020 and delayed four times due to the pandemic, Beijing’s strict zero-COVID policy made hosting in-person impossible.
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