COP15 talks teeter on brink

Hopes of sealing a historic “peace pact with nature” at a United Nations biodiversity summit will soon rest on the world’s environment ministers, arriving in Montreal for the final phase of talks that began yesterday.

Stark divisions remain to be bridged, foremost among them the subject of how much developed countries will pay the developing to help them save ecosystems, and whether there should be a new, dedicated fund for this purpose.

At stake is the future of the planet and whether humanity can roll back habitat destruction, pollution and the climate crisis, which are threatening an estimated million species with extinction.

The draft agreement contains more than 20 targets, including a cornerstone pledge to protect 30 percent of the world’s land and seas by 2030, eliminate harmful fishing and agriculture subsidies, tackle invasive species and reduce pesticides.

“I hope what we would have at the end of this… is a Paris moment,” said Zakri Abdul Hamid, science advisor for the Campaign for Nature, referencing the landmark climate accord that agreed to hold long-term warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

“Decades of study have also clarified what the world must do,” he added.

In the absence of heads of state and government, more than a hundred ministers will have to drag the text, three years in the making, over the finish line.

But its success still hangs in the balance after disagreements over the thorny issue of biodiversity financing led to a walkout by negotiators from developing nations overnight Tuesday and a temporary pause in talks.