COP15: Canada, China jointly host UN biodiversity talks amid rising political tensions | 24CA News
A significant UN convention on biodiversity will get underway in Montreal Tuesday with a lofty purpose to get each nation to agree to guard nearly one-third of the world’s land and oceans earlier than the top of this decade.
But the setting stands out as the straightforward a part of a gathering that’s being co-hosted by Canada and China amid rising diplomatic tensions between the 2 – and with out the political heft of world leaders, who weren’t invited to attend.
“I would say that it will be very interesting and very important to watch how the COP15 unfolds,” mentioned Guy Saint-Jacques, a former Canadian ambassador to China.
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China is the president of this 12 months’s biodiversity assembly, which implies it helps set the agenda and guides the negotiations. It would usually play host, too, and delayed the assembly 4 occasions due to COVID-19.
Because China nonetheless hasn’t opened its borders to worldwide travellers, the Chinese authorities agreed in June that the assembly might be moved to Montreal, which is dwelling to the workplaces of the UN biodiversity secretariat.
Officially, Canada’s position is principally one in every of logistics. But the association will enhance Canada’s affect over the negotiations and will add extra diplomatic unrest to the equation.
To say diplomatic relations between Canada and China are strained is akin to suggesting the Pacific Ocean is only a wee physique of water.
The relationship went off the rails in 2018 when Canada arrested a Chinese tech govt on behalf of the United States, and China swiftly detained two Canadians in obvious retaliation. While greater than a 12 months has handed since all three have been launched, tensions haven’t actually eased.
In latest weeks, new allegations have emerged about Chinese makes an attempt to exert affect inside Canada, together with in latest elections. And in November, Canada pressured some Chinese state-owned corporations to promote their stakes in Canadian critical-mineral initiatives in a bid to tamp down China’s dominance within the battery-electric trade.
COP15 can even begin simply 9 days after Canada issued a brand new Indo-Pacific technique that seeks stronger commerce ties in Asia to counterbalance China’s affect. Beijing made clear that it was not pleased in regards to the technique.
Saint-Jacques mentioned China needs to be grateful that “Canada came to its rescue” when the nation couldn’t host the biodiversity summit. But he mentioned China tends to push Canada round.
“It’s the old proverb that you kill the chicken to scare the monkey,” he mentioned. “So they beat Canada up and they tell the other countries that, ‘you dare to criticize us, here’s what will be happening to you.’ So we have to be conscious of that.”
Saint-Jacques mentioned China in all probability gained’t need Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to attend the convention, since Chinese President Xi Jinping gained’t be there. Xi would have attended if the summit had taken place on his dwelling turf, and he did give a speech on the digital occasion a 12 months in the past.
But Trudeau goes, and he’s slated to talk on the opening ceremonies together with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
No different world leaders are anticipated. China solely invited setting ministers, a transfer some nature teams say is designed to underplay the significance of the assembly.
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault mentioned it’s not typical for nature talks to function a leaders’ summit, and he famous that Canada had solely 4 months to prepare this occasion. He mentioned that inviting leaders was “something we contemplated,” however by the point organizers have been pondering the concept, it was too late.
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“Leaders’ schedules around the world were already very packed and we didn’t get a super good response to it,” he mentioned.
Former Canadian setting minister Catherine McKenna mentioned there’s lots of concern {that a} deal is much less more likely to be reached with out world leaders being on website so as to add strain.
“It’s a challenge, because what you want is leaders to come and say we need to get a deal and say that clearly to their negotiators,” she mentioned.
“Often negotiators just continue negotiating forever,” McKenna mentioned, and a push from the highest will be vital.
“I don’t know how it is going to play out,” she mentioned. “I know people are very concerned right now.”
She added that there isn’t any doubt the strains between Canada and China will add to the issue of getting a deal. But she mentioned they should put aside the friction as a result of the planet can’t wait.
“There is no solution to the climate crisis, to the biodiversity crisis, without working with China,” she mentioned. “And that’s challenging. But I think you can work on those issues while still … standing firm on other issues like human rights and trade.”
Both McKenna and Saint-Jacques mentioned Canada and China have had shut ties on environmental points for many years.
Saint-Jacques mentioned Canadian improvement help in China helped result in the creation of its setting ministry. The two international locations have had an environmental framework settlement in place since 1998, and Parks Canada has helped China develop its new community of nationwide parks.
“I would say that if China is honest, they will recognize that Canada has been very helpful,” Saint-Jacques mentioned.
© 2022 The Canadian Press
