One Planet Summit

In her speech, President von der Leyen emphasised that "2021 will be the year when the world turns over a new leaf for our planet” at the COP15 for nature in Kunming, in May this year. She called for an “ambitious, global and game-changing Paris-style agreement” to be drawn up at the COP15, since this concerns not only sustainable development, but also equality, security, and quality of life. The President reiterated Europe's willingness to show the way and bring as many partners as possible on board, while leading by action and ambition at home. President von der Leyen also spoke about the link between biodiversity loss and COVID-19: “If we don't urgently act to protect our nature, we may already be at the beginning of an era of pandemics. But we can do something about it. It needs concerted global action and local sustainable development. And just as we cooperate for our 'One Planet' we need to work together for our 'One Health'.” Speaking at the summit hosted by France, the United Nations and the World Bank, Ursula von der Leyen set out how the Commission is working to preserve biodiversity: “This shows that turning over a new leaf for nature all comes down to local action and global ambition. This is why, with the European Green Deal, we are stepping up our own action and ambition - both locally and globally. And the new, greener Common Agricultural Policy will help us protect livelihoods and food security - while we protect our nature and our climate.” Finally, she reminded participants of Europe's “duty to ensure that our Single Market does not drive deforestation in local communities in other parts of the world”.

Watch the speech here, read it in full here. Learn more about the Commission's work to protect our planet's biodiversity here.