Argentina, Russia and Saudi Arabia accused in Yerevan of weakening scientific assessments — Buenos Aires Times

At the UN biodiversity conference COP17 in Yerevan, Armenia, diplomats accused Argentina, Russia — an aggressor state — Saudi Arabia and, to a lesser extent, Brazil of trying to weaken the role of scientific assessments in international environmental policy. This was reported by the Buenos Aires Times, citing AFP.

Dispute over IPBES reports

According to diplomats, these countries opposed the approval of scientific assessments on the link between biodiversity loss, climate change and the economic factors contributing to both crises. The dispute concerned two reports by the UN-backed Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.

Nearly 200 countries at COP17 are discussing how the findings of these reports should affect international efforts to protect nature. A French government representative, who wished to remain anonymous due to the ongoing negotiations, told AFP that the situation resembles recent disputes in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

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Statements by negotiation participants

Another negotiator from a developed country also named Argentina, Russia, Saudi Arabia and, in part, Brazil as key participants in the opposition. He claimed that these states are trying to weaken the wording in the IPBES reports, refrain from approving them, or use them as bargaining chips on other points of the negotiations.

Scientists and civil society representatives participating in COP17 issued a joint statement expressing concern over the course of the negotiations. The criticism came the day after Argentina voted in the UN General Assembly against a resolution condemning the US embargo on Cuba. Argentina's foreign minister, Pablo Quirno, explained the decision by what he said was the absence of freedom and democracy in Cuba.