COP15 conference: China promises declaration on biodiversity at UN environment event
- The pledge comes days after President Xi Jinping said the country would stop building coal-fired plants abroad
- Next month’s event in Kunming will also help prepare the ground for a major climate change summit in Scotland later this year
Next month’s United Nations environment conference in southwest China will include a declaration on building a global ecological civilisation and preserving biodiversity, according to a government official.
“The Kunming Declaration will be one of the main outcomes ... it is a call for action to all parties to respond to the call to build a community of life on Earth, to stop the loss of biodiversity, to enhance human well-being and to achieve sustainable development,” Cui Shuhong, an official with the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said on Thursday.
The high-level segment, including a state leaders’ summit and a ministers’ meeting, will be held on October 12 and 13 via video link as part of the five-day COP15 conference in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, which starts on October 11.
Cui said a “state leader” will attend the conference in person, without specifying if this meant President Xi Jinping.
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A global biodiversity framework, which addresses how to reverse biodiversity losses and their impact on ecosystems, species and people, will be reviewed at the convention but not decided until the second leg of the convention, which will take place in Kunming next spring.
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Cui also said China would share its experiences from adopting a “red line ecological protection system” that looks for “nature-based solutions” to protect the country’s most sensitive ecological environments.
At present, the system covers around a quarter of the country’s land area. “By strictly adhering to the ecological protection red line to maintain and improve the integrity, stability and resilience of ecosystems, a green barrier against the risks has been constructed while mitigating and adapting to climate change,” Cui said.
