Nordic Region present at UN summit on biodiversity, COP15

Toppmötet COP15 bygs i Montreal
Photographer
Paul Chiasson/Zuma/Ritzau Scanpix
From 7 to 19 December, the world will gather in Montreal to agree on a new global deal for nature. The Nordic Region is represented by ministers, parliamentarians and a large group of 18 Nordic youth representatives.

The UN summit on biodiversity will offer the world a new deal for biodiversity – a “Paris Agreement for nature”. 

A group of 18 youth representatives from the Nordic countries will participate in the final negotiations in Montreal and convey their messages.

Three thousand young people from the Nordic countries have contributed to the “Nordic Youth Position paper on Biodiversity”. After a two-year process, young people between the ages of 16 and 30 have drawn up 19 demands for the new global deal which they will table during the final negotiations.

Measurable goals and clear demands

The Nordic environment and climate ministers have a joint demand for the UN’s final negotiations: the biodiversity crisis must be resolved through a global agreement with measurable goals and clear requirements for implementation.

Several of the young people’s demands are also reflected in the ministerial declaration.

A Nordic fund for the work of young people on biodiversity and climate.

The Nordic Region is and must remain an ambitious region in terms of biodiversity and the climate. The Nordic Council’s Committee for a Sustainable Nordic Region recently submitted a proposal for the creation of a Nordic fund for the work of young people on biodiversity and climate.

The committee encourages the Nordic Region to take the lead and create innovations in the field of biodiversity and climate.

Why is the new deal important?

The state of nature is deteriorating rapidly all around the world. Out of eight million animal and plant species, one million are threatened with extinction.

Here in the Nordic Region, we’re in the midst of a nature crisis.

Biodiversity is essential to human health and wellbeing, economic prosperity, food safety and security, as well as other areas that are necessary not just for all people and human societies, but for the entire planet and all its inhabitants.

The 20 goals for biodiversity were set by the UN Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD) ten years ago to address the mounting losses.

None of them have been completely met. The coming years will be decisive for stemming the loss of biodiversity.