On 22 May, EU Ambassador to China Jorge Toledo attended at an event hosted by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China and the People’s Government of Heilongjiang Province, to mark the International Day of Biological Diversity in Yichun, Heilongjiang. Addressing the audience, Ambassador Toledo emphasized the urgency for action to fight biodiversity loss and the need for joint leadership of the EU and China for global implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). 

The EU and its Member States are the main providers of international biodiversity funding worldwide. Scaling up public and private financing to support GBF implementation is a key priority for the EU. Ambassador Toledo encouraged China to increase its contribution to global biodiversity finance efforts, beyond the Kunming Fund. 

The EU and China have a long history of bilateral and multilateral cooperation on biodiversity, which has gained even more importance in light of global challenges.