‘I still can’t get over the fact we did it’: what it felt like to seal historic Cop15 deal

The global agreement to protect nature was signed in Montreal in December. Six months on, key figures remember the moment and consider what lies ahead

• Nature at risk of breakdown if Cop15 pledges not met, world leaders warned

Six months ago, nearly every government in the world came together to agree this decade’s global biodiversity targets. They include goals to protect 30% of the planet for nature by 2030, reform $500bn (£395bn) of environmentally damaging subsidies, and restore 30% of the planet’s degraded terrestrial, inland water, coastal and marine ecosystems.

During the once-a-decade summit in Montreal, it seemed as if the process might fall apart amid walkouts over money, geopolitical tensions and mistrust between the global north and south stemming from last November’s Cop27 climate talks in Egypt.