An alliance of environmental groups stated Tuesday that the poorest countries should receive at least $60 billion annually from wealthy countries to combat biodiversity loss.
The appeal was made by WWF and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, (IUCN), along with other green groups, at a major UN environment meeting held in Nairobi.
Follow The Daily Star’s Google News channel to get the most recent news. It comes before key talks for a UN diversity summit to be held China, which will see nations agree on conservation targets for the next ten years.
The $60 billion would address “thedisproportionate impact of wealthy countries consumption habits on biodiversity,” signatories stated in a joint statement.
Campaign for Nature director Brian O’Donnell stated that wealthy nations are responsible for much of the loss to nature in developing countries by importing goods. He urged that they have a responsibility for addressing this issue.
The NGOs estimated that $844bn per year is needed to address the loss biodiversity and nature, which is $711bn less than what is currently being spent.
Marco Lambertini, WWF, stated that financial assistance should be combined with a reduction in public and private investment that harms the environment.
It is possible. It requires political will to achieve it,” Lambertini said about the $60bn goal. It is not a tax to protect biodiversity. He said that this was an investment and made good business sense. The pledge of wealthy nations to provide $100 billion annually to the developing world to address the climate crisis has not been fulfilled.
