Decision COP 15/2

The Conference of the Parties

1. Welcomes the Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services issued by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services and the related regional and thematic assessments;

2. Also welcomes the special reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, and on the ocean and cryosphere in a changing climate and on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems;

3. Takes note of the fifth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook, including its summary for policymakers, as well as the second edition of the Local Biodiversity Outlooks and the 2020 Plant Conservation Report;

4. Acknowledges with appreciation the financial support provided by the Governments of Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as well as the European Union, for the preparation of the fifth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook;

5. Takes note of the general conclusions from the fifth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook;

6. Also takes note of the lessons learned from the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 identified in the fifth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook;

7. Encourages Parties, and invites other Governments and local and subnational governments, as well as relevant organizations, as appropriate, to use the reports and to take steps to widely disseminate their findings, including by translating the reports into local languages and by producing other appropriate communication products for different stakeholders, and to make use of the reports when implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework;

8. Urges Parties to take urgent action to address the drivers of biodiversity loss as identified in the Global Assessment of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, as well as those of climate change and land degradation, in an integrated manner.