Earth Negotiations Bullentin

Abstract

The UN Biodiversity Conference, originally scheduled to take place in 2020 but delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is not just another international environmental conference. Biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate and the drivers of decline show no sign of abatement. Humanity stands at a crossroads. Biodiversity and the ecosystem services nature provides are crucial for human survival and wellbeing. Continued biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation will have profound consequences in human societies and will pose an existential threat to future generations.