Implementation of historic biodiversity framework highlighted at COP28

DUBAI, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- An initiative has been launched during the ongoing COP28 climate conference to shore up the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

Huang Runqiu, COP15 president and China's minister of ecology and environment, took the lead in launching the initiative when attending via video link an event held Saturday here in Dubai during COP28.

COP15 is formally known as the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, while COP28 refers to the 28th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Stressing that climate change and biodiversity loss have brought serious challenges to the survival and development of humankind, Huang said that during the second phase of COP15 in December last year, China, which held the COP15 presidency, spearheaded the promotion of a series of achievements including the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

Those achievements have drawn the blueprint, set goals, clarified the path and gathered strength for global biodiversity governance, Huang said.

To further gather the political will of all parties to implement the framework, China took the lead in launching the initiative, and is willing to work with the international community to jointly address global challenges such as biodiversity loss and climate change, he added.

Adopted in December last year at COP15, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework sets an ambitious "30x30" target, ensuring that by 2030 at least 30 percent of areas of degraded terrestrial, inland water, and coastal and marine ecosystems are under effective restoration.