PRESS RELEASE : Environment and Climate Ministers of the G7 Countries agree actions to reverse biodiversity loss at G7 meeting in Japan [April 2023]
The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 17 April 2023.
G7 Environment and Climate Ministers committed to increase funding to support the developing world in protecting nature.
The Climate and Environment Ministers of the G7 have today (Sunday 16 April) agreed a joint statement to tackle global nature loss.
The meeting, held in Sapporo in Japan, was hosted by Mr Yasutoshi Nishimura, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, and Mr Akihiro Nisimura, Minister of the Environment.
Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey and the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Grant Shapps, attended in person. Guest countries included India, Indonesia and the UAE.
The G7 members committed to the swift and effective implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) – which the UK played a key role in agreeing in Montreal last year – demonstrating their collective leadership in halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030. They also highlighted the need to mobilise funding from all sources to support developing countries to protect nature.
The Environment Secretary called on her fellow ministers to deliver on their existing commitments to increase finance for nature to close the nature finance gap and scrap or repurpose environmentally harmful subsidies.
G7 ministers committed to dedicate a significant amount of international climate finance to nature-based solutions, delivering benefits for climate, people and nature. Ministers called on Multilateral Development Banks (MBDs) and International Financial Institutions (IFIs) to do the same, and for businesses to progressively reduce negative, and increase positive, impacts on biodiversity.
The commitments today showcase a step forward for nature and put an end to species extinction through increasing the mobilisation of resources, including private finance to fund the global effort to halt nature loss.
Speaking after the meeting, Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey said:
The G7 have committed to the swift and effective implementation of the landmark Global Biodiversity Framework – which aims to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.
Following this historic agreement reached at COP15 last year, I am delighted to have met my G7 counterparts today to discuss ways we can build on this as a global community and tackle the challenges we all face with meaningful and urgent action.
We have seen tremendous progress this weekend and it has been great to see our countries working together to raise our ambition and lead by example, each playing our part.
The group also committed to redouble efforts to increase action to end plastic pollution by 2040, halt and reverse forest loss by 2030, protect marine biodiversity in the high sea, and reduce pollution.
The Communique is published online on the Japanese Ministry of the Environment website.
