With a view to the far-reaching consequences of the worldwide extinction of species, the environmental policy spokesman for the Greens in the Bundestag, Jan-Niclas Gesenhues, has warned that the upcoming world conference on nature in Montreal, Canada, will fail. “The conference must not fail, because it is about nothing less than the global network of species and ecosystems, which is our life insurance,” Gesenhues told the German Press Agency.
Mankind must “fundamentally change” its relationship to nature and get away from destruction and exploitation, the Green politician explained. The conference offers a “great opportunity” for this.
Barely protected land and sea areas
The 15th World Summit on Nature, in which environmental organizations also have high hopes, will take place from December 7th to 19th. One of the main goals is to protect at least 30 percent of the world’s land and sea areas by 2030. So far, only a fraction of these areas are protected.
A solid financial basis for global species protection also plays an important role in the negotiations. Only recently did the federal government pledge to provide 1.5 billion euros a year for this until 2025. Experts consider this sum and the previous protection efforts to be too little.
According to scientists, one million of the world’s eight million animal and plant species are threatened with extinction. However, these ensure that humanity is supplied with clean air, food and drinking water, among other things, emphasized Gesenhues.
Hoping for a “Paris moment”
Overall, he hopes for a “Paris moment” in Montreal, said the Green politician. Binding targets for global climate protection were set in Paris in 2015. Experts repeatedly complain that the species crisis has not been taken as seriously as the climate crisis.
This evening, the Bundestag is also dealing with a motion by the traffic light groups of the SPD, Greens and FDP on this topic. According to the application, the federal government should, among other things, be asked to work both nationally and in international negotiations for binding species protection and to promote solid financing.
