Delegation Diary: JNCC news from COP16
By Communications
Learn more about how we are supporting the UK delegation at the ‘nature COP’, who we have met and the side events we’re involved with.
1 November 2024
Reflections on COP16
As COP16 draws to a close, some of the JNCC team have recorded their reflections about the event. Find out more in their video diaries below.
Willow Outhwaite, Senior International Biodiversity Advisor
"Roll-on COP17!"
Alyssa Fischer, International Advice Team Leader
"A period of hope, aspiration and ambition."
Beth Flavell, International Marine Protected Area Programme Manager
"It's important to bring together the nexus of biodiversity and climate change."
Tom Meagher, Board Member of JNCC
"It's been a pleasure to see how JNCC staff have engaged with COP as members of the negotiating team, through networking and side events."
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31 October 2024
Event: One Ocean, One Challenge: Building effective MPA networks through trans-national partnerships
A Fantastic ‘One Ocean, One Challenge’ side event was held on 30 October at COP16 Colombia, co-hosted by JNCC and Government of Maldives, and discussing progress towards 30x30 and the importance of working collaboratively.
JNCC’s Gemma Harper, Beth Flavell and Alyssa Fischer spoke and moderated the event on the importance of transnational partnerships in achieving Target 3 of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s post-2020 biodiversity framework and 30x30 through Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).
Alongside Gemma, the event was opened by the Maldives' Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Energy.
Presentations were made by France, Brazil, Maldives and JNCC on their respective work on MPAs and progress and commitments against 30x30.
The event was full, with great engagement from the audience and many requests for follow-up on the various partnerships at the core of the event, especially the International Partnership on MPAs, Biodiversity and Climate Change, which JNCC chairs.
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30 October 2024
Global Youth Biodiversity Network
Tackling global biodiversity loss, which is leading to ecological collapse, exacerbating climate breakdown, and destroying the foundations of humanity's prosperity, wellbeing, security and social justice, requires a whole-of-society approach. Engaging young people in meaningful participation is key to us all being good ancestors.
Our CEO, Dr Gemma Harper, was inspired and energised by meeting the Global Youth Biodiversity Network UK – the UK chapter of the official youth delegation to the Convention on Biological Diversity – in Cali at COP16 Colombia.
Recently, we have initiated a working group at JNCC focussing on how we can improve youth engagement and participation. The working group, made up of staff across the organisation with a passion for the topic, have attended external training sessions delivered by a youth development consultancy. We will be working to apply these insights into engaging young people in meaningful participation to initiatives across JNCC.
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30 October 2024
Event: Gender and Biodiversity Champions Platform
Our CEO, Dr Gemma Harper, was delighted to speak at the launch of the Gender and Biodiversity Champions Platform, an initiative by the Convention on Biological Diversity Women's Caucus at COP16 Colombia. Gemma opened her remarks to a packed room by encouraging women and girls to occupy their space.
She shared key gender and biodiversity commitments from the UK government including:
- Ensuring gender equality in the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework through a gender-responsive approach.
- Working in genuine partnership with the Global South governments, locally based organisations, and Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities.
- Integrating gender and social inclusion objectives into UK official development assistance programmes, supporting the leadership of women and girls for a just transition to a sustainable and inclusive economy.
- Prioritising gender equality in UK's domestic environmental policies.
Gemma also highlighted the international workshop at Wilton Park, attended by JNCC's Alyssa Fischer, where female leaders from around the world, representatives from indigenous communities, youth representatives and other partners worked to produce a set of shared principles to guide UK work on gender and biodiversity.
Minister Mary Creagh launched the Principles for Inclusive, Gender-Responsive, Locally-led Biodiversity Action at COP16 Colombia. These principles aim to guide governments, donors, non-governmental organisations and others in partnering with local communities to conserve and sustainably manage biodiversity.
Gemma emphasised that the inclusion of women and girls in NBSAPs under Target 23 and the Gender Action Plan is critical to the delivery of the Global Biodiversity Framework.
The session also welcomed inspiring remarks from panellists from numerous countries and indigenous communities around the world.
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29 October 2024
Event: High Level Breakfast Segment on Plastic Pollution
The rate of plastic flowing into the ocean is set to triple by 2040, compared to 2016 under business as usual. Scientific predictions suggest that maintaining business-as-usual would lead to a 70% global increase in annual plastics use and waste generation by 2040 compared to 2020.
Mary Creagh CBE MP, Defra's Minister for Nature, and Dr Gemma Harper OBE FAcSS, JNCC's CEO, attended the High Level Segment Breakfast on Plastic Pollution. The meeting was opened by the UN Secretary General António Guterres, who emphasised the importance of a multilateral solution to end plastic pollution and urged countries to step up for health, equity and justice.
Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP, stated that the plastic pollution crisis is indivisible from climate and nature, and urged countries to walk with the INC Chair across the finishing line and not let the world down. Mauricio Cabrera Leal, Colombian Vice Minister of the Environment, called for a transformative global treaty based on open and constructive dialogue. Ambassador Luis Vayas Valdivieso, Chair of the INC on Plastic Pollution, warned that plastic pollution is choking the planet and that a strong and unified agreement was needed to prevent this ecological tipping point.
Minister Creagh highlighted the government's commitment to tackling climate change and reducing waste by promoting a circular economy; and emphasised that it is critical that a new treaty on plastic pollution takes action across the entire lifecycle of plastic, including production and consumption.
The UK is committed to achieving an ambitious treaty as a proud member of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution and signatory to the Bridge to Busan statement. The final treaty Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) on Plastic Pollution will take place in Busan, Republic of Korea, in November 2024.
Minister Creagh reaffirmed the UK's strong support for agreeing an ambitious global treaty at INC-5.
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28 October 2024
Event: Dr Gemma Harper on panel debate about sustainable consumption
Dr Gemma Harper, JNCC’s CEO, contributed to a panel, co-hosted by WWF and the Stockholm Environment Institute, discussing sustainable consumption and GBF Target 16.
Highlights included the Global Environmental Impacts of Consumption (GEIC) indicator. You can learn more about GEIC indicator in the video below.
A key theme that emerged was the importance of diversity and the need for inclusion (in terms of drawing on diversity in the sciences and knowledge, and ensuring diversity of engagement across sectors) for a just transition to sustainable consumption.
It was a rich discussion that touched on many issues pertinent to Target 16, including: economic markets and incentives, agricultural production and subsidies, food processing and labelling, public health, regenerative production, the cost of sustainably produced products, and the importance of a combination of regulation, evidence and indicators, technology, education, capacity building and values-based leadership to drive the systemic changes need to tackle the socio-ecological crisis equitably.
Making peace with nature requires implementation of all 23 GBF targets, including target 16 – the conversation moved us closer…
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26 October 2024
Event: Dr Gemma Harper at the 8th Summit for Subnational Governments and Cities
Dr Gemma Harper, JNCC's CEO, spoke at the 8th Summit for Subnational Governments and Cities. The summit was opened with a filmed message from First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney, and included remarks from COP16 President, Minister Susana Muhamad, leaders from cities, subnational governments, and stakeholder organisations around the world.
In her remarks, Gemma highlighted the interdependence of the climate, biodiversity, sustainable development and poverty reduction challenges, focussing on the need for integrated approaches that involve knowledge and perspectives from communities to inform all levels of governance. There is a challenge to ensure that our ambition and action are aligned to tackle biodiversity loss and climate breakdown – both of which are serious threats to sustainable development and poverty reduction.
It is essential that we engage all forms of knowledge, from the traditional ecological knowledge of indigenous people and local communities to the full range of sciences, to the arts and humanities which engage hearts and minds to take action.
Gemma noted that nature does not respect geopolitical boundaries. As such, JNCC supports the UK government in working with the four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, as well as the UK’s Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies to ensure we can aggregate and disaggregate national data to provide a bird’s-eye view of the state and change of nature across the UK, Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
Gemma reiterated the initiation for cities and subnational governments to become signatories of the Edinburgh Declaration. Working together, we can accelerate progress towards the nature-positive, climate resilient future we need.
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26 October 2024
Event: Dr Gemma Harper at the launch of The Global Biodiversity Standard
Dr Gemma Harper, JNCC’s CEO, provided the closing remarks at the launch of The Global Biodiversity Standard (TGBS), hosted by the Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) at the beautiful Botanic Gardens in Cali, Colombia.
The event was hosted by Professor Peter Wyse Jackson, Missouri Botanical Garden, with inspiring presentations by Carly Cowell, Director Conservation Policy and Practice, BGCI, David Bartholomew, TGBS Project Manager, and Dr Leonardo Salgado, Botanic Gardens of Rio de Janeiro, as well as an excellent panel and presentation of the first certifications.
TGBS is a certification designed to ensure nature-based solutions are protecting, enhancing and restoring biodiversity. With UK funding, TGBS has been developed by a coalition of global scientific experts, including Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, to support the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).
Gemma concluded the event, celebrating the inclusive, collaborative and innovative way in which the certification was developed, highlighting TGBS's message of hope for the future - high nature, low carbon to support implementation of the GBF, and reiterating the importance of nature recovery for net zero as a key message from CBD COP16 to UNFCCC COP29.
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25 October 2024
Video: Dr Gemma Harper – Hola from Cali, and the People's COP!
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24 October 2024
Event: Dr Gemma Harper at the UN Trade and Development side event
Dr Gemma Harper, participated in the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) side event, co-organised with the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and JNCC: Bringing Trade and Biodiversity Data to Support Biodiversity and the Global Biodiversity Framework, expertly moderated by UNCTAD’s Loreno Jaramillo.
Trade data in relation to biodiversity-derived products are essential to understanding the environmental and socioeconomic impact of trade, and to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of policy interventions.
Gemma set the scene for the session, highlighting the role of land and sea use in commodity production and trade as a major driver of biodiversity loss, and the need for clear, comprehensive and accessible data to support progress towards the GBF targets. Jon Green, SEI, presented the GBF component indicator Global Environmental Impacts of Consumption (GEIC) - a novel indicator developed with JNCC – as a key tool for maximising the benefits from trade and minimising the harm.
Diego Ricardo Quintero Martínez, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), discussed the Wildlife Crime Report, highlighting the intersection of trafficking and other criminal activity related to the illegal wildlife trade. Lorena presented UNCTAD’s work on the Trade and Biodiversity statistical tool, and its potential to support sustainable trade flows. The session advocated for transparent and comparable data, and advanced understanding of the requirements for progress against GBF Target 16.
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23 October 2024
Photo: Dr James Williams and Willow Outhwaite supporting the UK's delegation team.
Willow Outhwaite has been providing interventions on Sustainable Wildlife Management, whilst Dr James Williams delivered a presentation at a side event focused on the delivery of the 7th National Report (7NR).
James outlined the complexities of the UK's indicator development requirements and the process the UK intends to take to fulfil its reporting obligations. The session was well-received and included presentations on similar topics from Bhutan and Uganda, as well as presentations on National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans and 7NR requirements and support available from the Secretariat and UNEP.
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22 October 2024
News item: Global agencies discuss Marine Protected Area network challenges and priorities
On Tuesday 22 October, members of JNCC’s Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Team had the pleasure of attending a meeting of the MPA Agency Partnership (MPAAP) in the periphery of the latest Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP16) currently underway.
To find out more, read the news item.
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21 October 2024
Photo: The team have arrived in Cali, Colombia
18 October 2024
JNCC at COP16, how are the team supporting global negotiations?
As countries start gearing up for COP16, find out how JNCC staff will be supporting this important meeting of parties.
Next week delegates from across the world will be meeting in Cali, Colombia for the ‘nature COP’, a meeting to negotiate new agreements to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. The meeting of signatories to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity aims to build on progress made in Montreal two years ago when the groundbreaking Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) was agreed.
The GBF is a global plan to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, and includes 23 ambitious global targets to improve and enhance biodiversity by 2030, including to:
- Effectively conserve at least 30% of land and 30% of ocean
- Reduce pollution from all sources to levels that are not harmful to biodiversity
- Enhance biodiversity and sustainability in agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries, and forestry
- Ensure sustainable, safe and legal harvesting and trade of wild species
At COP16, over 190 countries will come together to make this plan a reality. COP16 will also serve as a space to promote international cooperation and strengthen global environmental policies.
JNCC’s scientists including our CEO will be attending the meeting in Colombia as part of the UK delegation along with colleagues from Defra and other government departments. For over 30 years, JNCC has played a key role in the UK’s work under the Convention on Biological Diversity, including coordinating a joint response to the GBF from all four countries of the UK. Using this expertise, we will support Defra during COP16 negotiations and provide advice reflecting the positions of all four UK countries.
As well as supporting Defra, JNCC will be playing a leading role in negotiating new agreements in Cali. On behalf of the UK, JNCC’s International Biodiversity Advisor, Dr Sam Hardman is leading negotiations on new agreements on Invasive Alien Species. Willow Outhwaite, Senior International Biodiversity Adviser, is leading on negotiations on behalf of the UK for Sustainable Wildlife Management, and Biodiversity and Health. We want the outcomes of these negotiations to be ambitious for nature and reflect the UK’s commitment to meet all the targets of the GBF in full by 2030.
Dr James Williams, JNCC’s Senior International Biodiversity Adviser, is also part of the negotiating team, and for the last two years has been co-chairing a group of experts who have been working to develop tools for measuring progress against the targets of the GBF. In this role Dr Williams demonstrated the value of JNCC’s expertise on a global level.