Biodiversity Deal Reached at COP15 Conference to Preserve 30 Percent of Land and Sea

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault (L) shakes hands with Bhupender Yadav, environment minister of India, at the COP15 UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal on Dec. 18, 2022. The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes

Countries’ delegates participating in the COP15 conference in Montreal have reached a deal on Dec. 19 to strengthen the protection of the world’s biodiversity, including the aim to protect at least 30 percent of land and sea and by pledging of billions of dollars.

The deal reached by consensus is dubbed the Kunming-Montreal Global Diversity Framework based on the host cities in China and Canada.