The event, organized by France, the United
Nations and the World Bank, took place without
top U.S. officials, as President-elect Joe Biden,
a strong proponent of climate issues, does not
take office until Jan. 20. During his campaign,
Biden pledged to better protect biodiversity by
preserving 30% of American lands and waters
by 2030.
Monday’s talks sought to prepare negotiations
on biodiversity targets at a U.N. conference
on biodiversity in China in October, after it
was postponed last year due to the pandemic.
The U.N.’s global climate summit, the COP26,
has also been rescheduled for November
in the U.K.
A side conference on Monday focused on
investment for Africa’s Great Green Wall
project, which involves gigantic efforts
to stop the Sahara Desert from spreading
further south.
Participants welcomed the creation of a so-
called accelerator, which is expected to release
$14.3 billion over the next five years to finance
the program. Launched in 2007, it aims to plant
an arc of trees running 7,000 kilometers (4,350
miles) across Africa — from Senegal along
the Atlantic all the way to Djibouti on the Gulf
of Aden.
Another initiative involves a new coalition
of Mediterranean countries working to
better protect the sea from pollution
and overfishing.
Britain’s Prince Charles launched an “urgent
appeal” to private sector leaders to join a new
investment alliance targeting $10 billion by 2022
to finance nature-based solutions.