"Green groups say the COP15 postponement was inevitable due to COVID-19 but want governments to use the extra time to land a more ambitious agreement to protect nature"

"KUALA LUMPUR - Governments should take advantage of the third postponement of a United Nations biodiversity summit tasked with striking a global deal to protect nature by boosting ambition and finance for conservation and restoration, environmentalists said Thursday.

About 195 countries were expected to agree the text of a new pact to safeguard the planet's plants, animals and ecosystems - similar to the Paris climate accord - at U.N. talks scheduled for October in the southern Chinese city of Kunming.

But a lack of face-to-face meetings due to the COVID-19 pandemic means the summit, initially scheduled for October 2020, will now be held in two parts, officials announced on Wednesday."

Michael Taylor reports for Thomson Reuters Foundation August 19, 2021. [2]

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"Major UN Biodiversity Summit Delayed For Third Time Due To Pandemic" (Guardian) [3]