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The energy industry powers many businesses and much of society but puts immense pressure on the environment. As such, the move towards clean energy requires initiatives to ensure that biodiversity and ecosystem integrity are conserved. Efforts towards energy transition should not exclude biodiversity conservation – rather, they should work concomitantly to ensure the best synergies that benefit the climate-biodiversity-nexus.

This all-day event included distinct sessions focused on the interlinkages between forests and water-related ecosystems as key to implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. 

Access and benefit sharing (ABS) of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge benefits from an exchange of experiences, challenges, and information. This event highlighted the contribution of the Brogota Project in helping stakeholders understand and compare relevant legislations around the world.

With momentum increasing for implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and its targets, the issue of gender-responsiveness finds itself at the forefront of addressing the inequalities that drive the biodiversity crisis. This event invited attendees to reflect on different approaches to achieve gender equality in the context of the global biodiversity targets.

The adoption in June 2023 of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement signified a change in tides, not only for ocean governance in areas beyond national jurisdiction, but also for biodiversity conservation. With the expectation that the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and ratification of the BBNJ Agreement will soon come into fruition, stakeholders are becoming increasingly aware of the possible opportunities and challenges that it may bring. This side event considered how the BBNJ Agreement can work in synergy with efforts undertaken by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), including the GBF.

Forests provide 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity; yet each year over 10 million hectares of forests are lost to deforestation. The Forest Ecosystem Restoration Initiative (FERI), a collaborative project supported by the Korea Forest Service and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), is working to help countries achieve key biodiversity targets related to ecosystem restoration, habitat conservation, and forest rehabilitation through technical support, capacity building, and funding. This event featured successes and challenges associated with forest restoration, including current and future collaborative initiatives.

Achieving the goals and targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) will require multi-stakeholder engagement and creative solutions. Focusing on coral reef conservation and restoration, presenters during this event explored the role of multi-sectoral partnerships in leveraging science and technology to reduce biodiversity loss and foster resilient ecosystems, while making data, technology, and research capacity easily shareable and accessible to all interested stakeholders.

The “lithium triangle” is the area where Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia hold much of the world’s lithium. The race toward an energy transition, including lithium extraction, is placing Andean Wetlands at risk. This event asked attendees to look beyond the promise of energy transition and consider potential negative impacts of lithium mining in the region.

This event featured reports on progress made through the Sustainable Ocean Initiative (SOI) Global Dialogue, launched in 2016, and highlighted the importance of cooperation and collaboration among regional bodies for achieving global goals and targets.