Turkey withdraws as COP16 host, UN looking for alternative

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: The Guardian
3 Aug 2023 19:23

Turkey blames its withdrawal decision on the devastating destruction caused in parts of the country by the February earthquakes.

Antonio Guterres said in a speech to the European Parliament (European Union)

Because of the three significant earthquakes that struck Turkey in February and left huge portions of the nation in ruins, Turkey has withdrawn from hosting the UN COP16 biodiversity summit in 2024.

The first nature summit since nations adopted this decade's biodiversity targets at COP15 in Montreal last December was planned to take place in Turkey in October of the following year to review developments regarding the agreement.

Turkey withdrew from the conference owing to "a force majeure situation," according to a statement from the UN Convention on Biological Variety, which invited other nations to offer to host the conference. The scheduled dates, October 21 to November 1, are hoped to remain the same. Unlike climate COPs, which occur yearly, biodiversity summits happen every two years.

The conference will focus on how governments are achieving goals to protect 30% of land and sea, reform $500 billion in environmentally harmful subsidies, and restore 30% of the planet's degraded terrestrial, inland water, coastal, and marine ecosystems. France, the UK, Switzerland, and Spain are all potential replacement locations for the conference.

The coronavirus pandemic also caused delays in the COP15 preparations, which were shifted from Kunming, China, to Montreal as a result of travel restrictions.

The deal reached during COP15 was welcomed as a turning point amid worries that humanity is pushing Earth past its boundaries; governments have not yet achieved a target they have set for themselves on biodiversity since the convention began.

COP16 will be a crucial test of the global community's commitment to the lofty goals that must be achieved by the end of the decade.

The Turkish government withdrew due to "a force majeure situation, created by the three destructive earthquakes that occurred in February 2023," according to David Cooper, interim head of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity secretariat.

"The government of Türkiye has expressed its regrets that it had to take this decision. The secretariat has reiterated its condolences to the government of Türkiye for the losses and conveyed its solidarity in facing the difficult decision taken by the government in response to the current situation," he said.

At the climate COP28 in Dubai later this year, which starts in late November, there will be informal discussions on the developments since COP15.