As the decade-defining Nature COP begins, Greenpeace Canada activists dropped a massive banner in l'Anneau in Montréal's downtown core, a symbol that represents the strong union between Montrealers and visitors from around the world.
The banner depicts two potential futures for people and planet. One half of the banner portrays a vibrant, bright, healthy world with humans and wildlife flourishing; the other half is marked by environmental destruction and degradation, where only the skeletons of those same species remain.
Which future we arrive at, the activists stressed, is up to the leaders at this Conference.
Lagi Toribau, interim Executive Director, Greenpeace Canada said: "We're here to send a clear message: world leaders must steer us off this highway to extinction. This Conference is one of our last exits."
There are currently more than 1 million species at risk of extinction globally. The systems they - and we - rely on to support life and livelihoods are being pushed to the brink, with some regions reaching what scientists call a tipping point: the point at which the ecosystem can no longer cope with the pressures, and collapses.
An Lambrechts, Global Project Lead, Greenpeace International said: "This COP can turn this tipping point into a turning point for nature. That means delivering an ambitious global deal to put Indigenous Peoples and local communities at the centre of global conservation with at least 30% of global land and waters protected by 2030."
The commitments made at COP15 will determine the protections afforded to global biodiversity until 2030. The last biodiversity targets were set in Aichi, 2010. Canada failed to meet a single one.
"As host country, Canada must set the example by passing a national Nature and Biodiversity Act that will actually give nature and wildlife a fighting chance," Toribau continued. "The last decade was a devastating loss for nature. We don't have another decade to spare."
