MONTREAL - High-stakes biodiversity talks opened in Montreal on Wednesday December 8 amid calls for a peace pact with nature to save the planet's species and ecosystems from irreversible human destruction.
Delegates from around the world gathered for the Dec 7 to Dec 19 meeting to try to get a new deal for nature: A 10 year framework that aims to save Earth's forests, oceans and species before it's too late.
It's time for the world to adopt an ambitious biodiversity framework - a true peace pact with nature - to deliver a green, healthy future for all, UN chief Antonio Guterres told reporters.
Inger Andersen, head of the UN Environment ProgrammeUN Environment Programme UNEP, urged negotiators to create a strong framework for nature. She said that nature and biodiversity are dying from a billion cuts and humanity is paying the price for betraying our closest friend.
Representatives from the European Union and New Zealand, speaking on behalf of other countries, including the United States, slammed Russia for the environmental destruction caused by its invasion.
Ukraine said tens of thousands of dead dolphins had been washed up on the Black Sea, blamed for the military sonar used by Russian warships.
Russia's representative said that the meeting was an inappropriate forum and accused its critics of hypocrisy for not raising previous conflicts - such as Iraq and Afghanistan - in the context of talks on nature.
Around the downtown convention center where the talks were held, some 150 activists dressed in black protested against what they called the hypocrisy of the summit, as police watched on.