“We have in our hands a package which I think can guide us as we all work together to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and put biodiversity on the path to recovery for the benefit of all people in the world,” Chinese Environment Minister Huang Runqiu told delegates before the package was adopted to rapturous applause just before dawn.“Many of us wanted more things in the text and more ambition but we got an ambitious package,” Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault said.“Creating a fund under the GEF is the best way to obtain something immediate and efficient,” Béchu said, adding that a completely new fund would have taken several years to establish and deprived developing countries of immediate cash for biodiversity.“If this hadn’t been resolved, our fear is that it could have tainted the outcome of the COP and left a bitter aftertaste,” de Athayde told The Associated Press, adding that Bazaiba’s comments ensured that there are now “no grounds for questioning the legality and the legitimacy of the approval process.” The ministers and government officials from about 190 countries have mostly agreed that protecting biodiversity has to be a priority, with many comparing those efforts to climate talks that wrapped up last month in Egypt.Brazil, speaking for developing countries during the week, said in a statement that a new funding mechanism dedicated to biodiversity should be established and that developed countries provide $100 billion annually in financial grants to emerging economies until 2030."