Concerns are being raised talks at COP16 on how to mobilise billions of dollars to halt biodiversity loss are stuck, with only a few countries pledging millions of pounds at the summit in Colombia.
Seven countries and one provincial government have pledged an additional $163m to the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund, launched in the 2022 Kunming-Montreal summit with the aim of ending nature loss by 2030.
Additionally, only 34 countries plus the EU (18% of Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)) have submitted their revised National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), while 115 countries (59% of Parties) have published one or more revised National Targets, according to the WWF.
Onlookers are concerned this is not enough for the scale of investments needed as talks enter the second and final week, and Finance Day came to a close with few announcements.
“Limited progress has been made [at COP16 so far] on finance, with countries still highly divided in their views, leaving the entire text in brackets,” said Bernadette Fischler Hooper, global advocacy lead at WWF International. “Despite the complexities, there have been some constructive exchanges which are encouraging first steps, but the endpoint and duration of this journey are still entirely unclear. There is no question that biodiversity funds need to flow—and soon.”
Meanwhile, Irene Wabiwa, a biodiversity advocate at Greenpeace commented to Reuters about the pledges so far. “It’s very little. We are talking about millions that have been pledged. But what we are expecting are billions.
“When looking at the increased rate of biodiversity loss, the way money is flowing is very, very slow. And we are very scared.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Lin Li, senior director of global policy & advocacy at WWF International, reiterated that despite constructive conversations in the first week, and “some promising progress on the ‘easier’ topics at COP16”, some “significant trust-building” was still required on the issue of finance.
“Countries need to move beyond merely reiterating their positions and instead seek solutions to make real progress. We’re just two months away from 2025—the deadline COP15 set for developed nations to provide $20bn annually to developing nations for biodiversity conservation. It’s crucial that adequate, timely, and accessible funding reaches the people and places that need it the most,” adds Li. WWF also urged countries that have not yet published their revised NBSAPs to do so as soon as possible, and no later than the end of 2025.
However, a spokesperson for the COP16 secretariat David Ainsworth told Reuters: “The discussions are going well, but it’s a heavy agenda.”
ShareAction echoed this sentiment with a statement calling for more action on Monday. Head of biodiversity Alexandra Pinzon said: “To help drive action at the scale needed, finance leaders should also get behind calls for stronger government regulation and national policies that mainstream biodiversity. With just six years left to meet global goals to protect nature, we need to see higher ambition across the board.”
A report released this week by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) found almost 40% of the world’s tree species – totalling 16,425 species – are at risk of extinction thanks to timber logging and clear-cutting to make way for farming, mining, road-building and other development efforts.
The aim of COP16 was to implement the action and policy needed to meet the goal of ending nature loss by 2030. This is broken down into 23 goals including the 30-by-30 goal where each country set aside 30% of its land and sea territory for conservation by 2030. According to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), only 17.6% of the world’s land area and inland waters were under some form of protection
Last week, a global coalition of investors representing roughly $2.5trn in assets under management urged governments to take ambitious policy and regulatory action to halt and reverse global biodiversity loss in a call to action at COP16 in Colombia.
Backed by 27 pension funds and asset owners, a statement was signed by investors from Australia, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the US and the UK, calling on governments to set ambitious national targets.
