Biodiversity loss must be stopped – strong call for action on behalf of nature from ministers of the environment in Trondheim

Together with ministers of the environment from 13 other countries, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Krista Mikkonen issued a strong call for action on behalf of biodiversity at the Trondheim Conference on 2 July. The ministers committed to promoting increased ambition in international biodiversity targets. The new targets will be agreed on in 2020.

Minister Mikkonen is pleased that the Trondheim Call supports Finland’s goals for its Presidency of the EU Council, which include preparing a road map for halting biodiversity loss and improving the state of nature. The purpose of the road map is to conceptualise targets for 2030, 2040 and 2050.

“Now is the time to act on behalf of nature. Finland is showing an excellent example here, as our Government has made significant commitments to nature conservation, such as increasing nature conservation funding by EUR 100 million per year. It is important to increase funding, strengthen legislation and promote commitments from businesses in order to improve the state of nature both in Finland and abroad,” Minister Krista Mikkonen says.

The call was signed by ministers or deputy ministers from Finland, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Germany, United Kindom, France, Indonesia, Japan, Norway, Serbia, South Africa and Uganda.

The Trondheim Conference, now organised for the ninth time, supports the advancement of the international Convention on Biological Diversity. The conference is organised by the UN Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) and the Norwegian Government.

• The Trondheim Call for Actionin the Face of the Extinction Crisis (regjeringen.no)
• Trondheim Conference website (trondheimconference.org)

Inquiries:

Riikka Yliluoma, Special Adviser to the Minister, tel. +358 50 414 1682, [email protected]

Marina von Weissenberg, Senior Ministerial Adviser, Ministry of the Environment, tel. +358 295 250 321, [email protected]