Embracing Nature's Resilience: Cop16 Biodiversity Summit Seeks New Host Country After Turkey's Withdrawal
Turkey has regretfully withdrawn as the host country for the United Nations' Cop16 biodiversity summit in 2024, citing the impact of three major earthquakes that struck the nation in February and devastated parts of the country.
The nature summit, a critical gathering to discuss progress on the biodiversity targets set during Cop15 in Montreal last December, had been planned for October next year in Turkey. However, due to the unforeseen "force majeure situation," the UN convention on biological diversity is now seeking another country to step in and host the conference. The scheduled dates for the summit, from 21 October to 1 November, are intended to remain unchanged. It's worth noting that biodiversity summits take place every two years, unlike the annual climate Cops.
Countries like France, the UK, Switzerland, and Spain have been considered as possible alternative destinations to host the conference. During the summit, participating governments will engage in discussions on their efforts to protect 30% of land and sea, reform $500bn of environmentally harmful subsidies, and restore 30% of the planet's degraded terrestrial, inland water, coastal, and marine ecosystems.
The lead-up to Cop15 was also disrupted and delayed several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to its relocation from Kunming, China, to Montreal. Despite the challenges, the agreement reached during Cop15 was seen as a significant turning point, considering the warnings about humanity's impact on Earth's ecological limits.
Cop16 is set to be a crucial test of international commitment to the ambitious biodiversity targets that must be achieved by the end of this decade. David Cooper, interim head of the secretariat of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, expressed sympathy for Turkey's decision and acknowledged the "force majeure situation" caused by the earthquakes.
Informal discussions on progress since Cop15 will be held during the climate Cop28 in Dubai later this year, starting in late November. This will provide an opportunity to assess how nations are faring in their efforts to meet the biodiversity goals set forth during the previous summit.
