Halfway through, COP15 a.k.a humanity's 'last best chance' to save Earth has gotten nowhere

Humanity has just eight days left to seal a deal to save nature from destruction at our species' hands. But, halfway intothe historic COP15 biodiversity talks, there's no major progress.

The UN talks were touted as the "last best chance" to save Earth's species and ecosystems from humanity and the irreversible destruction it's causing.However, as per AFP, there has been no major progress on increased funding for conservation in developing nations or the "30 by 30" pledge to safeguard 30 per cent of land mass, and seas by 2030.

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On Thursday, environment ministers of the 196 members of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) take over from their delegates in Montreal, and it is hoped that negotiations will get serious.

But the chances that the talks that end on December 19 will close with an agreement for an ambitious "peace pact with nature" seems far-fetched given the state the draft is currently in.

AFP reports that despite the many hours the 5,000 experts and delegates spent pouring over the text it remains far behind schedule, with dozens of points still awaiting discussions.

Of the 22 or 23 envisaged objectives, only five have been settled. As Alfred DeGemmis, a senior official at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) puts it "Governments are making progress, but not fast enough to prepare a clean text for the arrival of ministers."

"We are seeing flashes of light at the end of the tunnel," said the head of WWF International, Marco Lambertini. He added that he had observed a "much more constructive engagement" since the talks began, however, there's still a long way to go.

(With inputs from agencies)

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