2022
December 18
Soil biodiversity booth
Équiterre is animating an exhibition booth on soil biodiversity in the Canada Pavilion (closed to the public)
Completed
COP15
COP15, which took place in Montreal from December 7 to 19, was a turning point to preserve life.
Context
COP15 is the most important global meeting on biodiversity in over 10 years. Its goal is to raise ambition among the countries who have signed the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and to adopt a new common global framework for biodiversity restoration and protection. The new global framework will require profound transformations in our society in order to:
Stabilize the trends that have exacerbated biodiversity loss in the next ten years (by 2030);
Allow for the recovery of natural ecosystems in the following 20 years, with net improvements by 2050;
Achieve the Convention's vision of "living in harmony with nature by 2050."
❗Saviez-vous que
Au Québec, le Cadre mondial s'incarne dans le Plan Nature 2030, porté par le ministère de l'Environnement, mais sa réussite dépend des orientations du ministère de l'Agriculture. Au fédéral, la Stratégie pour la nature 2030 mise sur les co-bénéfices climatiques en agriculture. Notre présence vise à garantir que ces engagements se concrétisent sur le terrain.
Issues
We are in the midst of an environmental crisis (climate disruption and biodiversity decline) which is greatly affecting the living world. Our ecosystems and our planet operate within a delicate balance, and when biodiversity is eroded, all living things are threatened. There are impacts on the livelihoods and the food security of billions of people, on our health and on our quality of life.
“ Biodiversity is everything that’s alive. It’s you, it’s us, it’s everything that makes up our ecosystems and that allow us to live on this planet. It’s the food that nourishes us, it’s the water that hydrates us. It’s the microorganisms that decompose living things at the end of their lives so that they can feed the soil and generate new life. ”
Why is Équiterre at COP15?
In 2022, the environmental movement has a multitude of voices and expertise areas, with numerous groups working specifically on protecting biodiversity, flora and fauna. Équiterre's work to fight and mitigate the impacts of the environmental crisis is closely linked with the fight against biodiversity loss. Climate issues and biodiversity issues are closely intertwined. Work on one cannot be done without the other.
Équiterre is at COP15 to monitor progress on the global framework, and will be working in three areas:
- Faire valoir l’importance de la biodiversité des sols Chez Équiterre, nous travaillons depuis plusieurs années sur la santé des sols, qui est directement liée à la santé humaine et à la santé environnementale. Les sols vivants et biodiversifiés produisent des aliments plus nutritifs, captent du carbone et protègent des effets des changements climatiques. Lors de la COP15, Équiterre : → présentera une conférence et un panel sur la biodiversité des sols; → animera un kiosque sur la biodiversité des sols.
- Mobiliser contre des projets potentiellement destructeurs de la biodiversité Le gouvernement fédéral fait des efforts pour protéger les espèces menacées et la biodiversité, mais il continue d’approuver des projets pétroliers comme Bay du Nord. Sa réglementation sur le pétrole et le gaz offshore est trop faible pour protéger les écosystèmes et espèces marines. Lors de la COP15, Équiterre : → sensibilisera sur les risques et impacts du projet Bay du Nord sur les écosystèmes et espèces marines, pour mobiliser vers l’abandon du projet.
- Sensibiliser aux conséquences de l’effondrement de la biodiversité Le déclin de la biodiversité a des impacts qui vont bien au-delà de la perte d’animaux symboliques, comme l’ours polaire. Lorsque la biodiversité s’effrite, c’est tout le vivant qui est menacé. Lors de la COP15, Équiterre : → encouragera la participation à la Grande marche pour le vivant; → diffusera du contenu informatif dans le cadre du Collectif COP15; → fera don d'une œuvre d’art intitulée Ours polaire sur glaces éphémères à la Ville de Montréal pour exposition, avec le but de sensibiliser le grand public aux enjeux interreliés du dérèglement climatique et du déclin de la biodiversité.
COP15 timeline
December 13
Join our webinar on Bay du Nord
Équiterre is co-hosting a webinar with Sierra Club, on the risks and the impacts that the Bay du Nord project will have on marine species and ecosystems
December 12
Watch our conference on soil biodiversity
Équiterre is hosting a conference and panel discussion on soil biodiversity and food
12 décembre
Équiterre organise une conférence/panel sur la biodiversité des sols et l’alimentation
10 décembre
Équiterre participe à la Grande marche pour le vivant
8 décembre
Équiterre anime une projection murale sur la Maison du développement durable à Montréal
7 décembre
Début de la COP15
5 décembre
Journée mondiale des sols
4 au 20 décembre
Oeuvre Ours polaire sur glaces éphémères
Exposition à la Place des Arts d’une oeuvre d’art offerte par Équiterre à la ville de Montréal
27 octobre
La société civile mobilisée comme jamais pour la biodiversité!
What is COP and what is the difference between COP15 and COP27?
"COP" refers to the "Conference of the Parties." As the "Parties" are the countries that are signatories to a convention, a COP is a large summit where all the countries that have signed on and are bound by that convention come together. Conventions are required to hold periodic meetings with their members to review progress, make changes to the content of negotiated texts and set new targets.
COP15 in Montreal will deal with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and is the 15th Conference of the Parties to be held since the Convention was signed.
COP27, which was held in Egypt, focused on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The UNFCCC and the CBD are tools that emerged from the 1992 Earth Summit, where countries signed the Rio Declaration and agreed to establish legal instruments designed to protect the global environment. Unlike the annual climate COPs, the biodiversity COPs occur on average every two years.
Why is Montreal hosting COP15?
In fact, it’s not. The COP15 on biodiversity being held in Montreal is simply the second part of a COP that was originally scheduled to take place in China in 2020, but was disrupted by the pandemic. Following numerous attempts to postpone it, it was decided to divide the biodiversity COP15 into two sessions.
The first one was held in the fall of 2021 in Kunming, China (primarily in virtual mode). The second one was also supposed to take place in China, but because of health restrictions, members had to look for a new location for the conference. Montreal, which is home to the CBD Secretariat, was chosen. China retains the Presidency of COP15, but has been working closely with Canada to organize it.
How far have we come in Quebec and in Canada in terms of biodiversity protection?
Quebec has almost achieved its target of protecting 17% of its land and freshwater areas. However, the majority of the protected areas that have been created are up North, where there is significantly less pressure from industry.
Canada is still a long way from the goal of protecting 30% of its land and sea areas by 2030. Currently, around 13% of its land and water areas is protected and 9% of its marine areas is protected.
Related content
Check out our related content to better understand the issues surrounding this UN conference on biodiversity.
