STATEMENT: CLIMATE PROOF CANADA APPLAUDS ADOPTION OF KUNMING-MONTREAL GLOBAL BIODIVERSITY FRAMEWORK

OTTAWA, ON, Dec. 19, 2022 /CNW/ - Earlier today, negotiators at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP15) finalized an agreement for a Global Biodiversity Framework. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework is notable for many reasons, particularly for setting four global goals and 23 time-bound actionable targets to conserve and restore biodiversity in the context of human degradation and climate change by 2030.

Climate Proof Canada applauds the Government of Canada for leading the establishment of these goals and near-term targets to ensure ecosystem resilience in the face of climate change. Since its formation, Climate Proof Canada has been advocating for all orders of government to focus on actionable targets for adaptation, both domestically and globally.

In particular, Climate Proof Canada applauds the adoption of the Framework's targets 8, 11 and 15, which aim to:

1. Minimize the impact of climate change and ocean acidification on biodiversity and increase biodiversity's resilience through mitigation, adaptation and disaster risk reduction actions (Target 8)
   
   
2. Restore, maintain and enhance nature's contributions to people, including ecosystem functions and services (Target 11)
   
   
3. Take legal, administrative or policy measures to encourage and enable businesses, in particular large and transnational companies and financial institutions, to progressively reduce negative impacts on biodiversity and promote actions to ensure sustainable patterns of production (Target 15).

The Kunming-Montreal Global Diversity Framework now provides a precedent and template for what society can – and should – be achieving when it comes to adaptation and disaster risk reduction. Climate Proof Canada members stand ready to play an active role in working with the federal government to meet these targets.

About Climate Proof Canada
Climate Proof Canada is an unprecedented coalition of insurance industry representatives, disaster relief organizations, municipalities, Indigenous organizations, environmental NGOs and university-based thought leaders. This coalition believes that Canada must prepare for the present and growing effects of climate change through building a more disaster-resilient country.

The Coalition launched in June 2021 and will be active in the years ahead to encourage all orders of government and the private sector to collaborate on climate adaptation and disaster resilience. For more information, visit Climate Proof Canada.

Climate Proof Canada Coalition Members

INSURANCE INDUSTRY Aon Aviva Definity Desjardins Canadian Association of Mutual Insurance Companies Co-operators Insurance Brokers' Association of Canada Insurance Bureau of Canada Intact Financial Corporation Property and Casualty Insurance Compensation Corporation Sun Life Financial TD Insurance Travelers Wawanesa Zurich Canada   MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT Federation of Canadian Municipalities   INDIGENOUS ORGANIZATIONS Métis National Council

DISASTER RELIEF ORGANIZATIONS Canadian Red Cross   PRIVATE SECTOR Canadian Chamber of Commerce Forest Products Association of Canada Genesis Resiliency Surrey Board of Trade   PROVINCIAL ORGANIZATIONS Conservation Ontario   ENVIRONMENTAL NGOs AND RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction Intact Centre for Climate Adaptation International Institute for Sustainable Development Smart Prosperity Institute The Pembina Institute

SOURCE Climate Proof Canada

For more information or to coordinate an interview with an expert from Climate Proof Canada please contact: Climate Proof Canada Media Relations, [email protected]