Biodiversity Summit

On 7 December, representatives from nearly every country [blank] the world will gather in Montreal for the United Nations' COP15 summit to tackle the world's biodiversity crisis. Delays [blank] the meeting have tempered expectations for the outcome of the summit, but participants are holding out hope that the meeting could be as consequential for stemming biodiversity loss [blank] the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement was for action on climate change. COP15 is the 15th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, a treaty drafted [blank] 1992 to protect the world's biodiversity. Parties to the treaty include the European Union and every country in the world except the US and Vatican City, though both will participate in the summit. Representatives [blank] countries meeting in Montreal will negotiate an agreement to shape the next decade of action on biodiversity.