CALI, Colombia, November 2, 2024 — The 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP16) closed in the early morning hours today in Cali, marking a pivotal moment for global biodiversity protection with a historic decision on participation of Indigenous Peoples and People of African descent.
In a key decision on climate change and biodiversity, Parties reaffirmed their long-standing precautionary approach to geoengineering, sending a strong signal that these highly speculative technologies should have no part in the response to the climate crisis.
The conference, however, fell short of delivering a definitive pathway to phase out fossil fuels, despite strong calls from civil society, Indigenous Peoples, and social movements to tackle these primary drivers of biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution.
On the sidelines of COP16, Ministers also advanced for what could be final negotiations of a plastics treaty Nov. 25-Dec. 1 in Busan, South Korea—an agreement that could reduce plastic production and curb fossil fuel consumption.
CIEL experts released the following statements:
Mary Church, CIEL’s Geoengineering Campaign Manager, said:
“The Convention on Biological Diversity has, by consensus, reaffirmed the de facto moratorium on geoengineering put in place more than a decade ago, sending a clear signal about its ongoing relevance.
“At COP16 many parties drew attention to the potential for serious and irreversible impacts on biodiversity and communities, and highlighted their concern about the growth in uncontrolled outdoor experiments, making clear that the CBD’s precautionary approach is more important than ever. Parties to the CBD must now ensure that these decisions are fully implemented and risky outdoor experiments are prevented.
“If deployed at scale, these technologies would have profound, unpredictable, and potentially irreversible impacts on biodiversity, and introduce a range of unprecedented geopolitical, human rights, and environmental risks.
“Governments must resist dangerous distractions and urgently prioritize real solutions to the climate crisis, starting with a full, fair, fast, and funded phase-out of fossil fuels.”
Bruna Campos, CIEL’s Senior Campaigner on Offshore Oil and Gas, said:
“Life on this planet has no time for silence or delay in the face of mounting fossil-fueled threats. Countries need to do more than recognize the links between the biodiversity and climate crises; they need to tackle their common roots by phasing out fossil fuels.”
“Protecting biodiversity requires bold action to halt the oil and gas activities destroying ecosystems on land and at sea, degrading resilience, and undermining human rights, particularly of Indigenous Peoples. With over 140 Indigenous Peoples, civil society organizations, and social movement groups, we call on governments to take immediate steps to end new oil and gas activities and accelerate the phaseout of fossil fuels. Securing a biodiversity-rich and livable future for all requires nothing less.”
Daniela Duran, CIEL’s Senior Legal Campaigner, Upstream Plastics Treaty, said:
“The ministerial meetings on the sidelines of the CBD COP overwhelmingly recognized that the projected increase in polymer production is not sustainable. Now it’s time to make progress and move beyond disagreements on the scope of the instrument.
“Let’s be clear, the world won’t make peace with nature unless plastic production is substantively reduced. With less than a month to the final scheduled negotiations in Busan, we’re beyond the point where we need to see bold, specific plans to deliver initial mandatory measures to control and reduce plastic production levels by the end of negotiations.
“Most of the high-level sessions were held behind closed doors, reinforcing a dangerous precedent with regards to the right to participation and access to information with civil society, observers, and Indigenous Peoples being left out of the room.
“Talks must be ambitious and proceed in a transparent, inclusive manner that includes civil society, Indigenous Peoples, and other rightsholders. The world is watching.”
Media contact:
CIEL press team: press@ciel.org