COP15: Nations reach historic agreement to halt loss of biodiversity

After four years of fractious talks, nearly 200 countries, including India, approved a historic Paris-style deal on Monday to protect and reverse dangerous loss to global biodiversity following an intense final session of negotiations at the UN COP15 summit in Canada. The chair of the summit Chinese Environment Minister Huang Runqiu, declared the deal adopted at a late-night plenary session in Montreal. He overruled an objection from the Congo which had refused to back the text, demanding greater funding for developing countries as part of the accord. 

The deal pledges to secure 30 percent of the planet as a protected zone by 2030 and to stump up $30 billion in yearly conservation aid for the developing world. Environmentalists have compared the accord to the landmark plan to limit global warming to 1.5C under the Paris Agreement, though some earlier warned that it did not go far enough. Brian O'Donnell of the Campaign for Nature called it "the largest land and ocean conservation commitment in history." "The international community has come together for a landmark global biodiversity agreement that provides some hope that the crisis facing nature is starting to get the attention it deserves," he said. "Moose, sea turtles, parrots, rhinos, rare ferns and ancient trees, butterflies, rays, and dolphins are among the million species that will see a significantly improved outlook for their survival and abundance if this agreement is implemented effectively."