Colombia will host this year’s United Nations Biodiversity Conference, COP16, which is one of the most important environmental events in the world. This will be the first time for this Latin American country, which had offered to host this summit after Turkey’s withdrawal following earthquakes. Environment Minister Susana Muhamad said at the time that the offer represented a great opportunity for Colombia, which is home to the greatest biodiversity per hectare in the world.
This biodiversity summit called Cop 16 will be held from October 21 to November 1 this year. Several hundred participants from different nations are expected during this event.
In a letter sent to President Gustavo Petro, 22 members of Congress from all political parties asked the government to advocate for Bogota to host this United Nations Conference on Biodiversity, COP16. They highlighted the reasons why Bogota is the ideal option to host this event of international importance.
The 42 councilors and 22 members of Congress ensure that the country’s capital has the necessary infrastructure to host an event of this magnitude, starting with the Corferias, which is the largest hall in the country, as well as the various hotel offers.
“Bogota, which is a cosmopolitan city, is characterized by the fact that it represents the cultural diversity of Colombia, which allows every Colombian to identify with it. In addition, the city has a very extensive and high-quality hotel infrastructure, operational facilities like the El Dorado International Airport, which, given its strategic location, would help reduce the carbon footprint of the organization of the event there,”they pointed out in the letter.
They assure in the letter that Bogotá also has one of the most important ecosystems in the world, such as the Sumapaz and Chingaza moors, the first of them, the largest on the planet.
The WWF welcomed Colombia’s candidacy, estimating that the country has almost 10% of the world’s biodiversity and part of the Amazon rainforest. These biodiversity conferences are held every two years, with the last edition taking place in December 2022 in Montreal, resulting in a historic agreement to protect 30% of the planet by 2030.