A boost for biodiversity: G8+ Environment Ministers show leadership on the post 2010 target and make progress on climate change

27 April 2009, Siracusa (Italy). The city of Siracusa in Sicily provided a timely venue to demonstrate the expected leadership by G8+ Environment Ministers in addressing the multiple challenges the world faces today.

With reference to the current financial and economic crisis, combating climate change and protecting biodiversity were the two main themes of this Environment Ministers meeting hosted by the Italian G8 Presidency from 22-24 April. The development and deployment of low carbon technologies, including children’s health and the environment were also part of the discussions. The key outcomes of this meeting were a chairman summary capturing the discussions on the key environmental challenges and the Carta di Siracusa on biodiversity.

The G8 was established in 1975 as a response from industrialized countries to the economic crisis in the early 1970s. It is since 1992 that Environment Ministers have been gathering within the G8 process, however the topic of biodiversity was only introduced in 2007 with the launch of the Potsdam Initiative during the German G8 Presidency. In 2008, the Japanese G8 Presidency ensured through its Kobe Call for Action that biodiversity remained high on the political agenda.

The Siracusa G8 meeting used this foundation to prepare the ground for the UN International Year of Biodiversity in 2010 and for defining the framework for the post 2010 biodiversity target. The major outcomes from Siracusa can be summarized as follows:

• The climate change discussions were captured in the Chair’s Summary, while the issue of biodiversity got a separate and almost higher standing through endorsement of a separate document entitled the Carta di Siracusa on Biodiversity. Nevertheless, the climate change discussions between the G8 and a number of emerging economies, such as China, Brazil and South Africa allowed for a frank and timely exchange to prepare in a “non-negotiting” setting for this week’s Major Economies Forum in the USA and with a view to the Copenhagen Conference in December which must define the global post-Kyoto situation. Several participants noted that the meeting provided the necessary and timely forum to informally advance on mid- and long-term climate targets including the necessary financing for any post-2010 Kyoto regime.

• Compared to the previous G8 calls for biodiversity action, the Carta di Siracusa on Biodiversity enjoys the support beyond the G8 by explicitly including eleven additional countries and senior officials from relevant international organizations, such as IUCN and UNEP. They jointly support the Carta di Siracusa which includes strong commitments on issues, such as:
  • defining a 2010 timeline for the completion of an international regime on access and benefit sharing;
  • reference to climate change and biodiversity with a strong paragraph on the importance of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) along with addressing illegal logging which goes beyond national legislation to include a statement on the relevance of international legislation;
  • a more detailed commitment to enhancing the science-policy for biodiversity and ecosystem services;
  • some wording on increased investments for “green infrastructure”;
  • an entire section which defines initial elements for the post-2010 biodiversity target.

The Siracusa meeting has sent an initial powerful political message on biodiversity and it provided another milestone by facilitating the dialogue among some key countries on the issue of climate. However, it remains to be seen how these topics agreed by Environment Ministers and Senior Environment Officials will be included in the G8 Heads of State Summit in July of this year. IUCN will do its utmost by continuing to work closely with its members and the Italian G8 Presidency to ensure that this happens.

• Potsdam Initiative
• Kobe Call for Action
• Carta di Siracusa
• Chair’s Summary of G8 Italian Presidency
• Speech by Julia Marton-Lefèvre, IUCN DG at Siracusa meeting