Endangered species

COP16: UK's Envoy for Nature is a "landmark first"

In a "landmark first" for the UK government's approach to biodiversity and environmental protection, Ruth Davis - the former political director at Greenpeace UK - has been appointed the new, special Envoy for Nature, charged with drawing negotiations to stem the global biodiversity crisis.

21/10/2024
Words by Rob Hutchins
Photograph by Wynand van Poortvliet
Additional photograph by Annie Spratt

In swift response to a report issued by the WWF earlier this month that revealed the global average wildlife population has plummeted some 73% in the last 50 years, and as nations convene for COP16 in Colombia this week to discuss solutions to the state of the global biodiversity crisis, the UK government has appointed its first ever Envoy for Nature.

Ruth Davis, a former environmentalist campaigner and leading actor in the creation of the global pledge on deforestation – one of the main outcomes of the UN COP26 summit in Glasgow in 2021 – has taken on the role of special representative for nature.

Charged with ‘forging a global agreement on halting the decline of biodiversity’, she will report to the foreign secretary, David Lammy, and the environment secretary, Steve Reed, marking an ‘initial step in the government’s plan to put the UK at the centre of global efforts to stave off environmental collapse,’ reports the Guardian

Davis will face her first test at COP16 in Cali in Colombia this week, where nations are now convened for the coming two weeks, representing both the UK and the environment as vital talks to decide the global response to the current precipitous decline of the world’s biodiversity get underway. Davis will support the environment secretary, Reed who will be leading the UK’s negotiations on biodiversity in Colombia over the coming weeks. 

Having held senior roles at charities that include Greenpeace, the RSPB, and Plantlife, as well as the think tank E3G, Davis has worked on environmental policy for some 25 years. Her appointment follows that of Rachel Kyte who was formerly the top climate official at the World Bank, to the role of climate envoy.

“The government has recognised that the nature crisis is of equal gravity to the climate crisis, and that we cannot tackle one without addressing the other,” said Davis. “Ecosystems and the species they support are essential to maintain food security, reduce health risks, and manage the impacts of rising global temperatures.”

The UN biodiversity conference COP16 is now underway, running from October 21st to November 1st in Cali, Colombia. During the summit, governments will examine progress towards meeting this decade’s UN targets to halt biodiversity loss, which include protecting 30% of land and sea for nature and repurposing $500bn (£380bn) of environmentally harmful subsidies.

The environment secretary, Reed has stated that the UK government’s appointment of its new envoy for nature is a “landmark first” as she works to champion the cabinet’s ambition to “put climate and nature at the heart of our foreign policy.”

“We cannot address the nature and climate crisis without coordinated global action,” he said. “We depend on nature in every aspect of our lives – it underpins our economy, health, and society – and yet, progress to restore our wildlife and habitats has been too slow. Ruth’s extensive knowledge and expertise will be vital to help us deliver on our commitments to put nature on the road to recovery.”

The COP16 UN biodiversity summit is expected to welcome 190 countries and 15,000 people with the goal of protecting the world’s flora and fauna as well as the ecosystems that ecologists have warned are perilously close to the point of collapse. It’s the first time countries will meet to discuss global biodiversity since the Kunming-Montreal agreement in 2022 when world leaders made a series of unprecedented pledges to protect the natural world.

But despite those pledges, only 10% of the 196 parties who signed the 2022 agreement have since released the nature action plans they agreed to deliver in China, while funding for nature is still well short of the $20bn a year needed to protect nature. Further to that, only 2.8% of the world’s ocean is currently covered by ‘effective’ protection.

The Colombia conference has therefore been earmarked as a ‘critical opportunity’ for politicians and world leaders to bring global biodiversity from the point of no return.

Davis said: “I am delighted to be working with colleagues across government, and with partners around the world, to take on this urgent challenge; in particular, ensuring that the rules and incentives that govern the global economy work to protect and restore nature; and that we invest in the commitment, knowledge and passion of local people, who are critical to safeguarding the places where they live.”

 

Words by Rob Hutchins
Photograph by Wynand van Poortvliet
Additional photograph by Annie Spratt

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