The G20 Johannesburg Summit is an opportunity to act for people and planet

South Africa, a mega biodiverse country and biodiversity leader, can use the culmination of its G20 presidency to catalyse transformative change that decouples socio-economic progress from biodiversity loss and, more broadly, the systematic destruction of nature. Africa as a whole can benefit from elevating biodiversity to a top area for action by the world’s largest economies. The rewards would be immense – for the continent and the world.

The G20 has long recognised the importance of biodiversity for global prosperity. That strong and consistent recognition must now translate into leading the accelerated implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework – the world’s blueprint to halt and reverse biodiversity loss.

In December 2022, the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity committed to urgent and transformative action, powered by a whole-of-
government and whole-of-society approach, to implement the 23 global targets of the KMGBF by 2030.

Thus far, collective progress does not seem to match the ambition the world has invested in the Global Biodiversity Framework. To date, more than 130 parties have submitted national targets reflecting the KMGBF. Although the alignment of national biodiversity strategies and action plans is underway in many countries, nationally set targets often do not yet reflect the ambition that success requires.

A critical juncture

In a year from now, the 17th Conference of the Parties to the CBD in Yerevan, Armenia, will be a moment of truth. Parties will undertake the first global review of progress in the implementation of the KMGBF. The G20 can transmit the required sense of urgency. That would be in tune with the theme and priorities of South Africa’s presidency.

The triad of ‘Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability’ that South Africa has adopted as the theme of its G20 presidency aligns perfectly with the essence of the KMGBF. Yes, we are in this together. The world needs the leadership of the G20 to rise to the challenge, to step up and scale up for people and the planet. The targets of the KMGBF offer a copious menu of policy areas where the G20 can throw its weight behind action to safeguard the foundation of all life on Earth.

From tackling the illicit trafficking in wild fauna and flora to addressing illegal mining and waste-related crime, or bolstering conservation and restoration, G20-led action can change the game. Accelerated implementation of the KMGBF will yield benefits across the board, including under the priorities that South Africa has set out for its G20 presidency that will now shape its legacy.

The natural choice

It is well established that healthy ecosystems constitute a bulwark against disasters. Mobilising finance for a just energy transition – another priority for South Africa – is an area where the G20 can translate the climate-biodiversity nexus into synergistic policies.

The energy transition must not come at the expense of nature or of Indigenous peoples and local communities – the custodians of biodiversity. More broadly, climate change and biodiversity loss must be understood, and tackled, in tandem. The Johannesburg Summit, taking place on the heels of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Belém, Brazil, can breathe new momentum into the race to mobilise at least $200 billion per year for biodiversity action in line with the KMGBF’s Target 19.

We at the secretariat of the CBD also expect the G20 to lead by example: the world can no longer afford to see public and private investment bankroll the destruction of nature. Target 18 of the KMGBF is about redirecting, repurposing, reforming or eliminating incentives that harm biodiversity in just and equitable ways, reducing those incentives by at least $500 billion per year.

Leadership and synergistic action in the implementation of the KMGBF, the Paris Agreement and the Land Degradation Neutrality targets will take the world closer to ‘living in harmony with nature’ – the inspiring vision that unites the 196 parties to the CBD. It is crunch time for people and the planet. The opportunity to act is dwindling and the world needs the G20 to rise to the challenge.