'A new, remarkable deal for nature' – Lord Benyon, environment minister

Former Newbury MP, and environment minister Richard Benyon has hailed a decision reached at COP 15 as a Paris Climate Agreement moment.

That was when the world agreed to limit global warming to a 1.5 per cent increase.

The framework agreed today (Monday) commits to ending human-induced extinctions of known threatened species, such as rhinos and gorillas and pledges to save and protect 30 per cent of the world’s oceans and land by 2030.

It also offers protection for Earth’s vital ecosystems such as the Amazon and Congo basin rainforests, big reforms to agriculture, and better protection of indigenous territories and rights.

A $30bn commitment has been made from the so called "high ambition coalition" which will see vast tranches of funding directed from richer countries to poorer countries in an attempt to save nature.

Speaking moments from the deal with 190 countries being signed in Montreal, he said: “We have every right to feel proud of this deal. A lot more has to happen, but this is a remarkably good deal."

Lord Benyon, the minister of state for the department of environment and rural affairs has been at the negotiating table for two days.

The UK has already committed £11.6 bn to the International Climate Fund, £3bn of which is UK overseas development funding. It will add a further £29m to the pot following today’s deal.

Lord Benyon also paid tribute to the team of civil servants who he described as young, highly committed and superbly led.

Access to the fund, administered through the UN, will be by proof of action to save nature.

“We need to do more to protect nature in the UK,” said Lord Benyon.

He said the UK penned Dasgupta Review, which describes nature as “our most precious asset” and finds that humanity has collectively mismanaged its “global portfolio”, was widely referenced in negotiations.

Sir David Attenborough wrote in the foreword to that report that "economics is a discipline that shapes decisions of the utmost consequence, and so matters to us all. The Dasgupta Review at last puts biodiversity at its core and provides the compass that we urgently need. In doing so, it shows us how, by bringing economics and ecology together, we can help save the natural world at what may be the last minute – and in doing so, save ourselves."

Tony Juniper, Chair of Natural England said: “The agreement reached in Montréal today is a real breakthrough, presenting a new opportunity for humankind during the course of this decade to bend historic declines of Nature toward recovery.

"If we do that, not only will we save threatened species and ecosystems, but bring a range of hugely valuable benefits for people.

“We must continue to call for high ambition and work together to achieve stronger outcomes for nature, with the priority now being all about delivery in the member countries of the United Nations, including across the nations of the United Kingdom.

"We are very much looking forward to supporting Government in doing that, and ensuring this agreement makes a difference on the ground.”