The CBD-COP 15 in Montreal – one of the most important global conferences on biodiversity – saw a new set of targets for the protection and sustainable use of biodiversity being tabled and internationally agreed upon. Although these targets are to be implemented across national and regional levels, there remain challenges for these goals to be undertaken in many areas. To overcome these challenges, a new EU regulation shall be enacted with the aim of ensuring legally-binding baselines for nature restoration. In this context, it is important that multiple goals are aligned – such as those relating to energy transition, climate protection, and climate change adaptation.
Biodiversity plays a key role in climate resilience and the uptake of successful adaptation measures that confirm renewable energy generation is compatible with nature preservation. To establish sophisticated monitoring techniques for species and habitats, including the identification of causes for their decline or degradation, the use of big data and artificial intelligence presents both new opportunities and obstacles to solve – all of which warrant greater consideration across a variety of educational and information formats.
The Interim Dresden Nexus Conference 2023 (DNCi 2023) focuses on the topic, “A reality check at the regional level – The Implications of the CBD-COP15 for Saxony”. This conference invites high-level experts from science, industry, agriculture, political institutions, and civil society to discuss the implementation of the COP15 outcomes in Saxony and beyond. By bringing together these stakeholders at regional and national levels, the DNCi 2023 advocates for dialogue surrounding the contributions of nexus thinking to achieving the “30×30” target as the most important outcome of the COP15, and the opportunities and challenges to be faced by Saxony in taking regional accountability to fulfil national commitments.
