More than 280 governments and councils sign Edinburgh Declaration on nature

More than 280 governments, cities and local authorities from around the world have signed up to an agreement to protect nature known as the Edinburgh Declaration.

The declaration is an international agreement committing to bold action to halt biodiversity loss.

It was launched by the Scottish Government in August 2020 after a year-long collaboration with other sub-national governments.

The Edinburgh Declaration will be presented at a UN conference on biodiversity called Cop15 in Canada this December.

Environment minister Mairi McAllan is due to take part in a panel discussion at the Cop27 summit in Egypt, where she will discuss how the declaration’s plans can be replicated at a larger scale.

She said: “We must make sure that the climate and nature crises remain high on the global agenda, and are recognised as part of the answer to many of the world’s challenges.

“Scotland believes that all levels of government – in particular where responsibilities are devolved as is the case for Scotland – have a central part to play to deliver the transformative actions needed to halt biodiversity loss across the coming decades.

“The Edinburgh Declaration is our call to state parties to hear the voices of over 280 signatories at Cop15 in Montreal next month.

“We need them to take stronger actions and make bolder decisions across the coming decade.”