ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the biodiversity treaty-making, implementation, and enforcement promoted by the European Union (EU) and its member states to stop the loss of biodiversity on the planet. The EU has developed an external dimension for its European environmental policy that has the protection of biodiversity as one of its main goals. The EU’s Green Diplomacy Network, now integrated into the European External Action Service, also defines its diplomacy for biodiversity. The goals related to biodiversity have become “démarches” of the green diplomacy that the EU and its member states are seeking to achieve in the Convention on Biodiversity. As a normative power, the EU leads first by virtuous example in the field of the protection of biodiversity in Europe, as in the case of its Neighbourhood Policy and development cooperation policy. In this regard, EU environmental conditionality links the granting of development cooperation funds for third countries to their adherence to Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), in particular, those related to biodiversity. The EU also supports global governance funding of UNEP initiatives to protect biodiversity. This is why the EU’s role in fostering implementation and compliance with biodiversity agreements needs to be assessed. The EU plays an important role in backing the global environmental rule of law through the promotion of MEAs, but it has limited visibility as a champion of biodiversity. The adoption of the next EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 will be the right occasion to commit to global goals and assume stronger, more effective leadership.
