COP30 President backs Guyana’s bid to put biodiversity at heart of climate talks

The President of COP30, Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, has thrown his weight behind Guyana’s push to put biodiversity conservation at the centre of next year’s global climate talks, urging the world to “act as quickly as possible” to halt the accelerating loss of nature.

Speaking on day two of the Global Biodiversity Alliance (GBA) Summit in Guyana, Ambassador Corrêa do Lago called the inaugural summit, led by President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, a critical platform to ensure that biodiversity takes its rightful place alongside climate action at the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 30) in Belém, Brazil.

The President of COP30 reflected on how the historical 1992 Rio Conventions emerged at a time when there was limited knowledge and scientific uncertainty.

Today, he said that despite scientific agreement on issues like biodiversity, climate, and desertification, negative changes are happening more quickly than anticipated.

And therefore, “We have to do everything possible; as quickly as possible, and this initiative (GBA Summit) that we see here today is extremely important,“ the ambassador said.

Addressing climate change, he explained that the biodiversity crisis requires more than the engagement of central governments.

The COP30 president said it is imperative to involve the broader society, including civil society, subnational governments, academia, and the private sector in this fight. This broader inclusivity is key to the Action Agenda, which started during COP21 in Paris, France, and gained momentum at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland.

Under President Ali’s leadership, Guyana launched the Global Biodiversity Alliance. The summit’s first day saw meaningful discussions between CARICOM member states, conservationists, forest-rich countries and financial institutions, focusing on biodiversity conservation and restoration efforts on the global stage.

“This is why it’s very important to see many dimensions of civil society together with government in this initiative,” the ambassador noted.

He talked about Brazil’s commitment to reviewing pledges from other summits to check for progress.

Ambassador Corrêa do Lago stressed that multilateral cooperation is the only viable path forward. Forest-rich countries, especially tropical nations, must speak with one voice to prevent being manipulated or sidelined in global negotiations.

“We have to work together to agree that there are solutions and we need to have a common way of seeing how to deal with the forest, or we’re going to be strongly manipulated, and we definitely know that we can avoid that,” he asserted.

Meanwhile, the COP30 conference seeks strong promises and actions to limit the rise of global at 1.5°C.

It will also focus on building bridges between developed and developing nations and ensuring the voices of indigenous peoples and marginalised communities are heard.