Canada signs Leaders’ Pledge for Nature – What This Means
While the world still grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, it is heartening to note that the conservation of the natural world remains on the front burner for the international community. This week, in advance of the United Nations Summit on Biodiversity, the national leaders of 74 nations affirmed their commitment to working together to solve the issues of biodiversity loss, the degradation of forests, lands and waters, pollution and climate change. On Monday, Canada’s Prime Minister Trudeau signed the “Leader’s Pledge for Nature”, a framework of actions for nations to take during the United Nations’ Decade of Action.
What is the “Leaders’ Pledge for Nature“?
The aspirational goal is to “achieve the vision of Living in Harmony with Nature by 2050.” The pledge contains 10 different actions (or sets of actions, in some cases) to bring about change and conservation. They are, briefly:
- Responding to current health and economic crises in ways that are green and fair to all,
- Committing to the full implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity,
- Ending “silo thinking” by recognizing that all of the issues we face are interconnected and must be dealt with collectively,
- Transition to sustainable patterns of production, consumption and sustainable food systems,
- Meeting the goals set by the Paris Agreement on climate change,
Ending crimes against the environment,- Mainstreaming biodiversity considerations into policies at all levels of governance,
- Addressing health and environmental sustainability in an integrated fashion,
- Strengthening financial and non-financial means of implementing reform, and
- The design and implementation of policy that is science-based.
More detailed explanations of the actions can be seen in the full 4-page Pledge for Nature.
Who has signed the pledge?
At the time of writing, 74 nations had signed, including Norway, Germany, France and New Zealand, to name a few. You can check www.leaderspledgefornature.org for updates to the list, as (hopefully) more sign on. Regrettably, Prime Minister Trudeau noted at the time of signing that Canada is the only one of the world’s 10 largest countries to sign.
What does this mean for Canada, and for New Brunswick?
Canada has committed to protecting 25% of its land and 25% of its ocean by 2025, and plans to protect at least 30% by 2030. CPAWS is involved and keeping a close eye on in this initiative, both at the national and provincial levels.
Many of our CPAWS NB supporters have raised your voices in support of nature protection – by writing letter, signing petitions, and voting for nature. Your actions are making a difference, and these commitments from our national leaders show it. At CPAWS NB, we will continue to work hard to hold our governments accountable for taking strong action to protect nature, on land and sea. You can learn more on our website, www.cpawsnb.org.
