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UN’s COP15 biodiversity summit in limbo as Omicron uncertainty threatens date
- Summit’s second phase in China is supposed to finalise a global framework to address the loss of animal and plant species
- But it is unclear when the event will take place, after the postponement of a meeting in Geneva
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Question marks hang over a summit in China viewed as critical to protecting the Earth’s plant and animal life, with its planned date in doubt because of the pandemic.
Chinese environment ministry spokesman Liu Youbin said on Monday that the second phase of the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15), which was supposed to be held in April and May in the southwestern city of Kunming, was likely to be delayed.
Liu said the expected postponement was a knock-on effect of changing the date of an in-person meeting originally expected to take place this month in Geneva.
The Geneva meeting has been moved to March, prompted by uncertainties posed by the emergence of the Omicron variant and resulting travel restrictions, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity said.
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China pledges US$232m to world biodiversity conservation at COP15 conference in Kunming
China pledges US$232m to world biodiversity conservation at COP15 conference in Kunming
Time would then be needed to complete consultations on a post-2020 global biodiversity framework before the second phase of COP15, Liu said, adding that new dates and organisational arrangements would have to be negotiated.
The Convention’s secretariat did not immediately respond to email inquiries.
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