The Chinese government, host of the 15th Convention on Biological Diversity, COP-15 has pledged about $230 million to help set up a biodiversity fund to implement actions to protect and restore ecosystems.

For its part, Japan has announced the expansion of its Biodiversity fund to approximately $17 million.

During the meeting, the Global Environment Facility, GEP, in partnership with the UN Development Programme, UNDP, and the UN Environment Programme, UNEP, announced financial and technical support for developing countries.  

The goal is for governments to be able to implement actions immediately once the structure of the plan is defined, in the first quarter of 2022. 

More contributions will come from the European Union, which has stated that it will double external funding for biodiversity. 

France's President Emmanuel Macron has said that 30% of climate funds will be used for the issue.   

The UK government has also announced that a significant portion of its climate funding will be directed to biodiversity. 

In addition, a coalition of financial institutions, with assets of 12 trillion euros, has committed to protect and restore biodiversity through their activities and investments. 

The executive secretary of the convention on Biological Diversity, Elizabeth Maruma, believes that the adoption of the Kunming Declaration is an indication of global support for achieving the ambitions expected in the post-2020 biodiversity agreement.

For China's Minister of Ecology and Environment and President of COP-15, Huang Runqiu, the event should strengthen the global governance of biodiversity.  

He said that China will continue to play a leading role in contributing to an ecological vision of civilization in building a shared future for all kinds of earthly life. 

Source UN NEWS