Biodiversity’s Biggest Event Is Underway In Colombia
12:13 minutes
From now until November 1, bureaucrats from nearly every country in the world will be gathered in Cali, Colombia, for COP16, better known as the United Nations biodiversity summit. This “conference of the parties” comes together about every two years to deliberate on the biggest issue in conservation science: how to stop ecological collapse.
At the last summit, COP15, nearly every country agreed to a deal to halt biodiversity loss by 2030. This year’s conference will take a temperature check on how nations are doing in their quest to meet this goal (spoiler alert: not well).
Also on the agenda are the questions of who should profit from non-human DNA, and how a $700 billion funding gap for conservation work can be filled. Joining guest host Sophie Bushwick to parse through these big ideas is Benji Jones, environmental correspondent for Vox based in New York.
Keep up with the week’s essential science news headlines, plus stories that offer extra joy and awe.
Benji Jones is a senior environmental reporter at Vox, in Brooklyn, New York.
The transcript of this segment is being processed. It will be available within one week after the show airs.
Kathleen Davis is a producer at Science Friday, which means she spends the week brainstorming, researching, and writing, typically in that order. She’s a big fan of stories related to strange animal facts and dystopian technology.
Sophie Bushwick is senior news editor at New Scientist in New York, New York. Previously, she was a senior editor at Popular Science and technology editor at Scientific American.