A historic worldwide agreement to safeguard the environment and channel billions of dollars toward conservation was accepted by the United Nations, but important African countries, which are home to significant areas of tropical rainforest, objected.
Delegates were able to reach consensus around the deal’s most ambitious aim of protecting 30% of the world’s land and seas by the decade’s end, a target known informally as 30-by-30.
Through a translator, a representative from Cameroon said that the agreement was forced through. The agreement instructs nations to invest $200 billion annually for biodiversity efforts from both the 30-by-30 and the public and private sectors.
Developed countries will provide $25 billion in annual funding starting in 2025 and $30 billion per year by 2030. The deal, which contains 23 targets in total, replaces the failed 2010 Aichi Biodiversity Targets that were intended to guide conservation through 2020.