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Cop 15: UN Biodiversity Conference set to move from China to Canada after Covid-19 delays

  • Sources say the event that had been scheduled to be held in Kunming in December will move to Montreal instead
  • The meeting has already been postponed because of Covid-19 and scientists say the move shows that the world realises it cannot afford further delays

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The event in the southwestern Chinese city has been postponed several times. Photo: Xinhua
Echo Xie

The United Nations Biodiversity Conference, known as COP15, is likely to be relocated from the Chinese city of Kunming to Montreal in Canada this December, according to people familiar with the matter.

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The conference, which was originally planned to be held in Kunming in October 2020, has been postponed several times because of the pandemic.
The first phase of the meeting was held in the city last October when countries adopted a pledge, which is not legally binding, to reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.

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Representatives from about 200 member countries of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity are expected to establish a post-2020 global biodiversity framework to conserve species at risk of extinction.

Two different parties said they had heard from separate sources that the meeting would be moved to Montreal. The announcement is expected at a CBD meeting that starts in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Tuesday.

Separately, Eddy Perez, an international climate diplomacy manager at Climate Action Network Canada, wrote on Twitter on Sunday that COP15 had agreed on the relocation to Montreal. The secretariat of the CBD did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The relocation means that countries have realised the need for funds and actions to address the biodiversity crisis is urgent, according to conservationists.

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