A month ago, a spokeswoman for the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) indicated that 10,000 people were expected to attend the Conference of the Parties (COP15) on biodiversity in Montreal.
But Environment and Climate Change Canada officials say there are now an estimated 20,000 participants at the summit, which begins in the coming days at the Palais des Congrès.
During a technical briefing for the media, a Canadian government official indicated that this will be the largest COP on biodiversity ever organised.
For example, only 4,000 delegates attended the recent COP on climate change in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
Participants from different countries were already present at the Palais des Congrès on Friday morning and meetings behind closed doors are planned for the weekend.
Members of the Chinese delegation in front of the installations of the pavilion of China, the country holding the presidency of the COP15 on biodiversity. The event will take place in Montreal.
Photo: The Canadian Press/Paul Chiasson
The COP will officially begin on Tuesday afternoon when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Onondaga leader Tadodaho Sid Hill and China’s Environment Minister Huang Runqui will deliver opening remarks.
Keep in mind that Canada is the host country but China is chairing the event, which was supposed to be held in Kunming and has been moved to Montreal due to health regulations and repeated confinement in major Chinese cities.
Long negotiations are ahead
Despite some diplomatic tensions between Beijing and Ottawa, each country’s delegations must work together and work together to plan the days of negotiations that are expected to lead to the adoption on December 19 of the Global Biodiversity Framework for the 2020-2030 decade. .
One of the main goals of this COP is for the 196 countries to reach an agreement to halt biodiversity loss by protecting 30% of land and oceans by 2030.
Students wearing suits and ties symbolically destroyed a planet Earth containing lumps of coal on Friday in Montreal, days before the start of COP15, to denounce what they call the “commodification of life”.
Photo: Radio Canada / Hadi Hassin
Negotiations promise to be difficult, according to an Environment and Climate Change Canada official who is expected to spend nights at the Palais des Congrès.
However, this official, who cannot be identified, indicated that she was very optimistic and that the large number of participants at the event gave hope, as it was a sign of concern for biodiversity and recognition of the magnitude of the crisis.
According to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), one million plant and animal species are threatened with extinction and species are becoming extinct 1000 times faster than their natural rate due to human actions.