Buildings are surrounded by trees in the Hainan Tropical Forest National Park, Hainan province. PU XIAOXU/XINHUA

Remarks to UN Summit on Biodiversity stress nature's key role after pandemic

President Xi Jinping on Wednesday called for global efforts to continue green development and increase the potential for high-quality economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.

He made the remark in a video address to the United Nations Summit on Biodiversity, held under the theme "Urgent action on biodiversity for sustainable development".

Xi stressed the need to keep an eye on the long run, remain determined and stay the course for green, inclusive and sustainable development at a time when the pandemic has wreaked havoc on global economic and social development.

"We should strive to find development opportunities while preserving nature, and achieve win-win results in both ecological conservation and high-quality development," he said, adding that solutions can be found in nature.

Xi called on countries to uphold multilateralism to build synergy for global governance on the environment. He said that countries faced with risks and challenges to the environment worldwide share a common stake as passengers in the same boat and form a community with a shared future.

"Unilateralism finds no support, and cooperation is the right way forward," he said.

Xi also stressed the need to uphold the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, given that developed and developing countries－at varying stages of development－have different historical responsibilities and practical capabilities for addressing environmental issues.

Developing countries' concerns over funding, technology and capacity-building should be accommodated, he said.

"We need to earnestly fulfill our commitments, focus on our targets and effectively reverse biodiversity loss to protect the planet we call home," Xi said.

The Convention on Biological Diversity is an international treaty agreed to at the UN Earth Summit in Brazil in 1992. Its goals are the conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of nature and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits of genetic science.

The 15th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity will be held next year in Kunming, Yunnan province, with the theme "Ecological civilization: Building a shared future for all life on Earth".

Xi said that China, as host, is happy to share its experience of advancing biodiversity governance and ecological progress.

"I want to welcome you to Kunming, the beautiful 'Spring City', next year, to discuss and draw up plans together for protecting global biodiversity, and I look forward to the adoption of a comprehensive, balanced, ambitious and implementable framework of action," he said.