The European Parliament will encourage the improvement of biodiversity not only in agriculture and nature within EU countries, but will also incorporate it into international trade agreements and Development Cooperation.
On Wednesday, the European Parliament approved a report to place nature conservation and biodiversity more centrally in all of the EU's international policies.
The European Parliament advocates not only more funding for biodiversity, but also demands action from the business sector, whether or not compelled by European legislation. Harmful international subsidies must also be phased out. According to the report, biodiversity must be taken into account in sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, energy, and trade.
Dutch Member of the European Parliament Bas Eickhout (GroenLinks) believes the EU is sending an important signal ahead of the UN biodiversity summit starting next week. "Clear global agreements must be made there to reverse biodiversity loss. As the EU, we must not only set a target but also translate this into every part of European policy. We still have a lot of work to do on that front."
"The decline of biodiversity impacts nearly all of the United Nations’ international sustainable development goals. Consider just the importance of biodiversity for agriculture or water quality, but also the other way around.
Biodiversity is high on the European agenda this year. For instance, the European forest strategy was presented in July, and the European Commission will come forward later this year with proposals to eliminate deforestation in supply chains and binding restoration targets for ecosystems in the EU.
Next week the UN COP15 summit will start in Kunming, China—albeit entirely online. In April and May next year, the summit in China will continue, likely with dozens of heads of government present. This summit is expected to become the 'Paris moment' for biodiversity.