WWF AT CITES COP18
17-28 August, Geneva, Switzerland
In 2020, world leaders will make key decisions on the environment, climate and sustainable development, at the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, and in other key meetings regarding the Sustainable Development Goals, and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
These will shape the agenda for the next decade. The decisions they make now, and in the next few years, will profoundly affect our future. They must create a global solution that unites these issues: a New Deal for Nature and People. This new deal will require a fundamental shift in order to tackle the biggest threats to the planet together, as the systems that underpin life on Earth are interlinked. For too long we have considered them separately and searched for individual solutions. CITES can play a crucial role in such a global deal, through adoption of a new and robust strategic vision, with strong indicators and with provision for ongoing oversight by the Parties and by Civil Society.