February 2018
This week is the deadline for commenting on the process for preparing an international agreement to restore biodiversity post-2020.
In 2020, 196 nations will meet in China to agree a successor for the global biodiversity goals—the Aichi targets.
Unfortunately, despite the Aichi ambition to halt global biodiversity loss, only a handful of countries are on track to meet their international commitments. When 2020 arrives, it will almost certainly be with the painful news that we have failed to stop our destruction of the world’s wildlife.
So, what can make 2020 different?
As with so many international negotiations, the conference of the parties itself could be a last minute, high-stakes race to the finish line, but it will follow many months of detailed deal-making.
That’s why it’s critical that we lay the groundwork now for a world-leading offer for Beijing 2020.
No doubt, the Brexit process will gobble up political and parliamentary time that could be devoted to other matters, but it mustn’t delay or derail the UK’s chance to play a formative role in the run-up to the new Biodiversity Strategy.
We need to create opportunity where we can.
The first step will be making sure that the four nations of the UK can work together on a shared ambition for biodiversity. We’re supporting a cross-party group of peers who are proposing to amend the EU Withdrawal Bill (p. 68) to provide for common frameworks for environmental action after we leave the EU. Unless the four countries can agree shared minimum standards, it will be hard to reach international deals. Unless the four countries can agree shared ambitions for improvement, it will be difficult to play a credible part in the Convention negotiations.
Common baselines and ambitions can be a springboard for going further.
Demonstrating strong domestic action can be a deciding factor in the robustness of international commitments. The UK has led the world before. The influence of laws like the Climate Change Act 2008 can be traced from parliament to parliament around the world—a chain reaction of green regulation that adds up to a decent chance of beating climate change.
To do the same for nature, the ambition of Government’s 25 year environment plan should be set out in law and taken to the table in 2020 to show the UK’s resolve. Ideally, all four countries of the UK should work together on legislation that gives each the autonomy to innovate and improve, but adds up to a shared commitment that can anchor international negotiations to the highest ambition.
Of course, domestic policy must be matched by a recognition of our practical international role. UK trade, travel and consumption extends our environmental reach across the globe. Without managing our international impacts, we could easily end up “offshoring” the damage we do. By contrast, UK practical and financial support can be transformative. At this time when our international aid spending is under the microscope, it’s worth celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Darwin Initiative, which is helping to save species from the leatherback turtle to the spoon-billed sandpiper. We should formulate a new international offer that commits to practical action and reducing our indirect environmental impacts from trade and consumption. That will require a combination of new funding and corporate accountability.
There’s a basic principle in environmental thinking that the right decision should be taken at the right level. There’s no doubt that action to save and support the complex, amazing, international web of wildlife will require global action. But that agreement will be grounded in domestic commitments. As we look to reshape the way we manage our environment nationally and locally, it must always be with an eye to the international.
If the Government is serious about leading the world in environmental protection, now is the time to lay our offer on the table: legally-binding nature goals, based on shared UK commitments, with a renewed programme for greening our international impacts. The work on a new global biodiversity strategy starts now.
Richard Benwell, Head of Government Affairs at Wildfowl and Wetland Trust.
Follow Richard on Twitter @RSBenwell and WWT @WWTWorldwide
The opinions expressed in this blog are the author's and not necessarily those of the wider Link membership
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