MONTREAL (Dagbladet): For nearly a day, Climate and Environment Minister Espen Barth Eide has been in Canada’s Montreal in an effort to save the world’s nature and biodiversity. Here is a man he wished he had done without: the man who lost the elections in Brazil at the end of October, and who will resign as president at the end of the year, Jair Bolsonaro.
– It is a last greeting from Bolsonaro, who now has 16 days left. It’s a tragedy. WE spent a lot of time on Bolsonaro during the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, and the same is happening now, Barth Eide tells Dagbladet.
TOSPANN: Political adviser Maria Varteressian and Espen Barth Eide have only been in Montreal for a day, but they are negotiating in full swing. The goal is a historic agreement on nature, and Barth Eide will lead an important part of the negotiations, which concern the so-called DSI, the nature gene bank. Photo: Henning Lillegård / Dagbladet
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Steep fronts
At the Montreal Nature Summit, negotiators from all countries work towards a historic deal for nature from early morning until late at night. Once again, Brazil leads the way as a brake pad. Their representatives left a number of important meetings.
– Brazil presented a series of rather exorbitant demands, and then there was a so-called Bolsonaro exit from Brazil in several meetings, with a group of developing countries in tow, Barth Eide tells Dagbladet.
“Damn the Clowns”
It’s nothing new that Brazil has been a drag in the context of climate and nature summits, but Bolsonaro appears to be using his last few weeks to ram into possible nature deals before walking away. On 1 January, Lula da Silva returns to the presidency. He also has some individual people on site in Montreal, but they are not part of Brazil’s negotiating delegation.
– But we will work very hard to reach an agreement. There are steep fronts and we are a long way from a solution, with Brazil and a number of developing countries believing there is not enough money on the table, says Barth Eide and continues:
– I’d say it’s just that dramatic – and that’s exactly how it tends to be right now. When it comes to big deals that contain compromises, some drama and steep fronts are to be expected, says Barth Eide.
LONG STEPS: Espen Barth Eide’s schedule in Montreal is very tight, and it helps to be quick on foot. His advisers and his team come running after them. Photo: Henning Lillegård / Dagbladet
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Norway leads the way
Barth Eide is a ring fox at the pinnacle of climate and nature. And just like in Glasgow last year and Sharm el-Sheikh earlier this year, he and Norway have once again been given an important negotiating role in recent days in Montreal.
– Together with Majsas Rojas from Chile, we will lead the negotiations on the DSI, which deals with nature’s gene bank, which is important to reach a final agreement, says Eide.
The world’s poor countries have consumed the least amount of nature and therefore tend to have the most genetic resources in their own countries. The DSI negotiations aim to introduce some sort of tax or levy when companies become rich through the use of biodiversity. The money has to go back to the country that originated it.
– The role that has been assigned to Espen is quite geeky, but there is a lot of weight and prestige in it. The entire African group said the deal here is important if they want to participate in a final deal. And there’s a lot of money in that, says Barth Eide adviser Maria Varteressian.
– There is a lot of money in this, and companies understand that such a tax will come. It’s only a matter of a small fraction of each vaccine, for example, but that adds up to a lot of money, says Barth Eide.
NORGES FLOKK: Here, Espen Barth Eide and his closest friends talk to the Norwegian media through teams. From left: nature merchant Gaute Voigt-Hanssen, Kari Aasheim and Maria Varteressian. Photo: Henning Lillegård / Dagbladet
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– All down
But let’s go back to Brazil and its vast rainforest. Under Jair Bolsonaro, a huge amount of forest has been burned and destroyed, benefiting industry.
– The destruction of the rainforest is very bad for the climate. It could be argued that if the big three remaining rainforests are gone, then everything else we’re doing is a waste. Then everything collapses. Not only in Brazil, but all over the world, says Barth Eide and continues:
– The deforestation under Bolsonaro has been extreme and is absolutely terrible. But now we just have to start somewhere. Get a proper deal, says Barth Eide.
The WWF World Wide Fund for Nature has two delegates in Montreal. Brazil also follows closely.
– Brazil has made large requests for funding, which are at a level perceived as completely unrealistic by potential donor countries. At the same time, it is incredibly important to have a country like Brazil in the team. They manage some of the world’s most valuable natural areas, including the Amazon and the Cerrado, says Sverre Lundemo, WWF Senior Advisor and continues:
– These are natural areas that are important to the whole world, but of which we have lost a lot. In 2022, deforestation in the Cerrado alone will reach a staggering 10,689 square kilometers, which is the highest figure since 2015. In the Amazon, we lost 11,568 square kilometers of rainforest in the last year, he says.
