This chapter investigates interlinkages between the two threats of climate change and biodiversity loss, through the lens of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

After providing a brief overview of the climate–biodiversity interlinkages, the chapter examines the main features of the CBD relevant to climate change. This is followed by an historical review of how the CBD’s Conferences of the Parties (COP) have addressed climate change-related issues, from the entry into force of the Convention to the present day.

Since many of the CBD’s decisions related to climate change address the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its related instruments, including in the form of invitations and requests which require corresponding action from that side to achieve the desired effect, the chapter also includes a brief account of whether, and if so how, the climate regime has taken biodiversity into account. 

The chapter concludes that a large degree of outreach by the CBD has, at best, not been widely reciprocated in the practice of the climate change regime, and at worst, has been actively ignored.

The CBD and UNFCCC regimes have viewed the issue of interlinkages, synergies and mutual supportiveness very differently, and climate change has been a far more important topic for the biodiversity regime than biodiversity has proved to have been for the climate change regime. However, the important recognition by the Sharm el-Sheik Implementation Plan and most lately the Paris Agreement’s first Stocktake on the need to address climate change and biodiversity in a comprehensive and synergetic manner, may herald the beginning of a new story on cooperation and coordination with the CBD.