Müller: World community must pull together on species protection


Development minister calls for more commitment from industrialised countries to biodiversity

Federal Development Minister Gerd Müller (CSU) has called on the international community to take joint action on biodiversity protection at the start of the World Biodiversity Conference in China. “We have no time to lose. Every day 150 species become extinct,” Müller said on Monday, according to a statement from his ministry. “The global community must finally pull together.” He said he expected China, the summit host, to play a “leadership role.”

Müller called for an international “breakthrough in species protection” comparable to the 2015 Paris climate agreement, saying, “This is in our own interest. The more natural habitats are destroyed, the greater the risk that more viruses will jump from animals to humans and cause serious diseases.”

The CSU politician criticized that so far only eight percent of the world’s marine areas and 17 percent of all land areas were under protection. He called for an expansion of protected areas to 30 percent of marine and land areas.

The minister called on industrialized countries to double their funding for biodiversity conservation in developing and emerging countries. He proposed one billion euros annually as Germany’s contribution for the coming legislative period. In addition, he said, the private sector must be involved in financing biodiversity conservation.

This Monday, the World Biodiversity Conference begins in Kunming, China. The political part of the conference will take place largely virtually this week. The German delegation will be led by German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD). A global biodiversity agreement with targets up to 2030 will then be agreed at a presence summit from 25 April to 8 May next year.

by MICHELE TANTUSSI

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