COP16 leaders urged to embed all nature’s values in decision-making

Michael Christie is Professor of Ecological and Environmental Economics at the Aberystwyth Business School.

Government leaders discussing the global biodiversity crisis at COP16 in Colombia this week are being urged to formally incorporate the different values of nature into their decision-making.

The call is being made by Professor Michael Christie from Aberystwyth University, who is among the international experts invited to attend the sixteenth meeting of the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity. 

Professor Christie co-chaired the landmark Values Assessment Report, commissioned by the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), which will be discussed during the seven-day summit. 

Published in 2022, the report underlined the need for governments to take the whole range of nature’s values into account when making decisions rather than base policy on a narrow set of market values, short-term profits and economic growth.

Speaking ahead of COP16, Professor Christie, an Ecological and Environmental Economist in the Aberystwyth Business School, said: "COP16 is an incredibly important event, where major decisions affecting the future of our planet will be made. 

“During the week, member states will be discussing the recommendations of the IPBES Values Assessment report and agreeing the final wording for incorporating them as a formal decision of the Convention. This would place a formal obligation on signatory governments to consider the diverse values of nature and biodiversity across a wide range of policy decisions, at international, national and local level. 

“At a time when up to a million species face extinction, such a move is vital and would lead to better, more sustainable decisions that help tackle today’s biodiversity and climate crises.”  

Delegates from more than 190 countries will be attending COP16, including governments, indigenous leaders, academics, industry and civil society.

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