Colombia is collaborating with countries like Japan, China, South Korea, the United States, Brazil, and others to develop a shared agenda to address these challenges with a collective vision for humanity, said a Colombian official.
BOGOTA, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- The upcoming UN Biodiversity Conference will be an opportunity for nations to develop actions to protect the environment, conserve natural resources, and promote new models of green economy, Colombian Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Yesenia Olaya Requene has said.
With the second-highest biodiversity on Earth, Colombia will host the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16) from Oct. 21 to Nov. 1 this year.
In a recent interview with Xinhua, Olaya said that the UN Biodiversity Conference is a pivotal event that "will foster geopolitical strategies that enable participating countries to accelerate and advance scientific research, which is crucial for informed political decision-making."
The sociologist noted that Colombia, as the chair of COP16, is sending a clear message to the world that we have to face climate change and address its related challenges.
"How to produce renewable energies? How to decolonize economies?" asked the minister.
Olaya, 35, highlighted that science and technology are fundamental tools for solving these problems and improving human living conditions.
She said that Colombia is collaborating with countries like Japan, China, South Korea, the United States, Brazil, and others to develop a shared agenda to address these challenges with a collective vision for humanity.
"To promote the new development model, we have to bring together all different actors in society, including our grandfathers and grandmothers, whose knowledge can contribute to modern developments," added the minister.
According to local media, around 15,000 representatives from over 190 countries will gather in Cali, Colombia's third most populous city and the capital of the department of Valle del Cauca, for COP16 on the theme of "Peace with Nature."■