Within the framework of the COP16 about Biological Diversity which began in Cali, Colombiaworld leaders stressed the need to transform humanity's relationship with nature in order to combat climate change. climate crisis and preserve the biodiversity.
At the opening of the event, the incoming COP16 President and Minister of Environment of Colombia, Susana MuhamadThe President made a global call to seek peace with nature, stressing that the inclusion of diversity and local knowledge is essential to build a sustainable future.
"It is basically a matter of recomposing the way we live, of recomposing the development model, of recomposing, of rethinking, of rediscovering how we live together in diversity, in a system that does not permanently generate nature as a victim of development, that on the contrary, our own reproduction as a society reproduces life," he said.
The minister stressed that the extractive use of natural resources is responsible for half of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. greenhouse gases and the vast majority of biodiversity loss.
"Powerfully recovering ecosystems and nature can contribute almost 40% to the solution of stabilizing the climate and the carbon cycle. Hopefully COP16 in Cali will be that first objective, that first place where ants, without speaking, come together to mobilize life and mobilize Peace with Nature," he said.
The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petroalso intervened with a call to reform the global financial system in order to boost the climate action.
"Only by exchanging country risk for climate action, we will be able to finance the Marshall plan that will stop the climate crisis on the planet: that will decarbonize the entire economy. They charge a risk premium to those who absorb the CO2 spewed by the planet's mega-rich, that is a real deadly contradiction", considered the president.
The Colombian president's message was in line with the warnings of the Secretary General of the United Nations, the United Nations, António Guterreswho, in a message screened during the inauguration of the COP16 recalled that the world is not meeting the targets agreed to preserve biodiversity.
"The Global Framework for Biodiversity promises to restore relationships with the Earth and its ecosystems, but we are not on track. Our task at this COP is to move from words to action," urged Guterres.
The deterioration of ecosystems not only exacerbates the climate crisisbut also fuels conflict, poverty, anger, disease and inequality globally, he said.
As the world faces a potential collapse of the vital services that nature provides, such as pollination and clean water supply, experts said the economic consequences could be devastating.
A collapse of these essential services could cost the global economy trillions of dollars annually, disproportionately affecting the poorest countries, Guterres warned.
COP16 represents a unique opportunity for the world to unite in the fight to preserve biodiversity and ensure a sustainable future for all forms of life on the planet.
Source: COP16
