COP17: The world has a plan to save nature. Is it working?

The UN Secretary-General has called for an end to the “war on nature”. On Monday, governments gathering in Yerevan, Armenia, will have to confront a more practical question: are they doing enough to win the peace and put the world’s biodiversity goals back on track?COP17, the UN Biodiversity Conference, comes at a critical halfway point in the global effort to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. Running from 19 to 30 October, the meeting will take stock of progress, identify where countries are falling behind and, crucially, consider how to accelerate action over the next four years. Here’s what you need to know:First things first: What is the global biodiversity framework?The big picture: Think of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework as the world’s blueprint for halting and reversing the destruction of nature.Agreed in 2022, it contains 23 targets for 2030 and four longer-term goals for 2050. It tackles the main drivers of biodiversity loss, including changes in how land and seas are used, unsustainable exploitation of species, climate change, pollution and invasive species. Its best known ambition is “30 by 30”: conserving 30 per cent of land and sea by 2030...