Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
Today, at the Palais des Congrès in Montreal, the activities of the Fifteenth Conference of the Parties (COP15), aimed at renewing the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, kicked off. According to the opening programme, speeches were delivered by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, after which negotiations will be held for twelve days to set new targets for the protection of biodiversity by 2030. According to media reports in Canada, even before the opening of the conference Negotiations have officially begun to renew this global agreement aimed at curbing the disappearance of species.
“The fight to protect nature has never been more important than it is today,” said the Canadian government's Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Stephen Guilbo, yesterday morning at a press conference held at the Palais des Congrès in Montreal.
Canadian police in Montreal began their largest operation in two decades to secure the activities of the fifteenth conference of the parties aimed at renewing the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, as thousands of visitors began arriving to participate in the conference.
Officials expect more than 10,000 people to attend, including scientists and senior officials in the Canadian city of Montreal.
The RCMP, which is tasked with providing security for foreign dignitaries and senior officials, said the operation in Montreal would be the largest in 20 years. Although it usually takes more than a year to plan events of similar size, the RCMP has only been given a few Months.
It is noteworthy that Canada agreed to host the fifteenth Conference of the Parties at the request of the United Nations, as the current conference was scheduled to be held in the Chinese city of Kunming in 2020, but it was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Source: agencies and Radio Canada