Environment

Planetary Pact

A new UN framework to protect 30% of Earth’s land, oceans and inland bodies of water by the end of the decade was agreed to in Montreal at a long-delayed summit of world policymakers.

The COP15 conference of almost 200 countries wrestled with how much funding should be sent by developed countries to the third world, which is home to most biodiversity. Poorer countries argued that first-world nations had grown rich by exploiting their natural resources, and should pay to protect them in the future. Similar to the Paris climate agreement, the new pact still faces an uphill battle to be implemented.