25
Nov
2024
Watch
Outcome of the UN Biodiversity Conference 2024 in Cali, Colombia (COP16) (debate)
Madam President, the 16th Conference on Biodiversity in Colombia was a crucial milestone in protecting our natural world. Despite important agreements – such as the creation of the ‘Cali Fund’ – the failure to reach an agreement on crucial funding for nature protection remains worrying. Recently, the Hellenic Ornithological Society informed us about the disappearance of the riparian bird Leptomyta. This bird extinction – the first known worldwide in continental Europe, North Africa and western Asia – is a stark reminder that nature is really in crisis. Ecosystems are collapsing and species are rapidly disappearing. As a leading force, the European Union has a responsibility to step up its action to implement the Global Biodiversity Framework. Nature is our common heritage. We don't have time for delays. Its protection requires cooperation, investment and political will. We cannot allow other species to suffer the same fate. Protecting biodiversity is the guarantee – you all know it very well – for our future.