G7 Leaders Unite Around Ambitious Global Conservation Agenda

Commitment ties land and ocean protections to sustainable, inclusive economic recovery

WASHINGTON, June 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Leaders of seven of the 10 largest economies in the world united today in an ambitious agenda for the conservation of the planet, recognizing the critical role of nature in rebuilding the global economy in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Action by the G7 to protect or conserve 30% of the global ocean is a vehicle for nature-based solutions for climate"

In a joint statement, the heads of state from the G7 nations agreed to conserve or protect at least 30% each of the land and ocean on Earth by 2030 to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. The communique also included support for conserving the biologically rich waters of the Antarctic Southern Ocean, tackling marine plastic pollution, addressing unsustainable and illegal activities negatively impacting nature, and mobilizing sustained financing to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss. The G7 finance ministers pledged to approach these measures with a commitment to an "inclusive global recovery that builds back better and greener."

The G7 communique comes during a pivotal year for global conservation. In July, World Trade Organization members will meet to negotiate an agreement to end harmful fisheries subsidies; in August, the United Nations will open the third and final round of negotiations on a draft of its post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, which maps out conservation targets for the next decade; in September, the U.N. General Assembly will assess progress of the Leaders Pledge for Nature; in October, at the Convention on Biological Diversity, Parties to that international treaty are expected to agree on an ambitious new plan to safeguard life on Earth; later in October, the members of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources have the opportunity to deliver nearly 4 million square kilometers of ocean protection in Antarctica's Southern Ocean; and in November, the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change will meet to assess progress against the goals of the Paris Agreement.