Biodiversity Promises Fade as Cop17 Opens with Low Hopes

The world promised to stop the destruction of nature by 2030. Four years later, that promise is slipping away. Next week, the biodiversity Cop17 summit begins in Yerevan, Armenia. Expectations are low. Very low. Almost four years ago, governments reached a historic deal at Cop15 in Montreal, Canada, to halt the destruction of Earth's ecosystems. The hall erupted in applause that freezing December morning. Today, that optimism has faded. As delegates meet for Cop17, the outlook is bleak.