Global leaders will try to reignite international environmental diplomacy on Monday

Global leaders will try to reignite international environmental diplomacy on Monday with a biodiversity summit that launches a critical year for efforts to stem the devastating effects of global warming and species loss. Momentum on climate and biodiversity stalled in 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, a health crisis that experts say illustrates the many diverse dangers of environmental destruction. Can the pandemic spur action on climate change? UN chief denounces ‘suicidal’ failure to tackle climate change Australia’s Great Barrier Reef ‘critical’ due to climate change The One Planet Summit, a largely virtual event hosted by France in partnership with the United Nations and the World Bank, will include French President Emmanuel Macron, UN chief Antonio Guterres, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Union head Ursula von der Leyen. Organisers want to lay the groundwork for crunch UN biodiversity talks – postponed because of the pandemic – set to be held in China in October and will see nearly 200 nations attempt to thrash out new goals to preserve Earth’s battered ecosystems. France hopes the summit will bring together issues around climate and the protection of ecosystems, a source from the Elysee Palace told AFP news agency, adding along with global warming, preservation of biodiversity is “our collective life insurance”. So far, efforts to protect and restore nature on a global scale have failed spectacularly.