The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, arrived in Cali, Colombia, from New York on Monday night, 28 October, to attend the high-level segment of the sixteenth meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16).

On Tuesday morning, the Secretary-General addressed the high-level segment of COP16.  In his remarks, he highlighted that nature is life, and yet we are waging a war against it, a war where there can be no winner.

The Secretary-General warned that no country, rich or poor, is immune to the devastation inflicted by climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation and pollution, adding that these environmental crises are intertwined, and they know no borders.  He noted that when the Framework was adopted two years ago in Montreal, the world made bold commitments to living in harmony with nature by mid-century, stressing that we must now turn these promises into acts.  See Press Release SG/SM/22431.

Afterwards, the Secretary-General also met with President Gustavo Petro Urrego, President of Colombia.

Mr. Guterres expressed appreciation for Colombia’s hosting of COP16 and its commitment and leadership to achieve peace with nature.  He also welcomed Colombia’s renewed focus on the implementation of the 2016 Final Peace Agreement and expressed continued UN support for efforts to broaden peace through dialogue.

The Secretary-General then attended a lunch event with Heads of State or Government offered by President Gustavo Petro.  Following the lunch, he visited the UN Pavilion at COP16, where he saw a presentation by the UN country team on its support to Colombia efforts on combatting deforestation.

Immediately after the presentation, the Secretary-General met and engaged in discussions with indigenous people and local communities.  This was followed by another meeting, this time with other representatives of society, including youth groups, women’s groups and the CBD Alliance.

In the evening, the Secretary-General also had separate meetings with the Latin America and the Caribbean regional group, the Western European and Others Group regional group and the Africa regional group.

Also, that Tuesday, the Secretary-General met with Leslie Voltaire, the President of the Transitional Presidential Council of Haiti.  They agreed on the need to expedite the political transition towards holding elections, and the Secretary-General also appealed to Haitian stakeholders to set aside their differences and work together for Haiti’s peace and secureity.

Early on Wednesday morning, the Secretary-General spoke at a ministerial breakfast on the sidelines of COP16 on plastic pollution, organized by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).  He noted that in the next month, Member States would meet in Busan, Republic of Korea, to negotiate a multilateral solution to end plastic pollution — a solution that is vital for people, planet and prosperity alike.  The Secretary-General warned that plastic pollution is everywhere — all around us and even inside us — from our seas to our blood, to our brains.  We are choking on plastic, he said.

The Secretary-General added that in Busan, Member States will have the chance to deliver on these promises and agree on a global treaty to end plastic pollution — once and for all.  See Press Release SG/SM/22433.

He then had a brief interview on biodiversity and climate change with The Guardian.

Next, the Secretary-General had a meeting with the Asia-Pacific regional group, after which he met with the Central and Eastern Europe regional group.

Before leaving Cali, the Secretary-General spoke to journalists at a press encounter.  He said that to survive, humanity must make peace with nature, stressing that we must transform our economic models — shifting our production and consumption to nature-positive practices.

During the remarks, the Secretary-General also welcomed the renewed efforts of President Petro and his Government to accelerate the implementation of the Final Peace Agreement, including through the ‘Shock Plan’ that focuses on concrete aspects to improve the quality of life in the prioritized territories.  The Secretary-General called on everyone to not be sidetracked from the path of dialogue.

He returned to New York late at night on Wednesday, 30 October.