Nations agree on push to get nature goals on track at UN summit
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Crucial texts were approved in overtime following two weeks of tense negotiations at the COP17 conference in Armenia’s capital Yerevan.
PHOTO: AFP
- Nearly 200 nations approved key UN biodiversity texts in overtime at COP17 in Yerevan, after two weeks of tense talks aimed at reversing nature loss by 2030.
- Countries still face major gaps on targets, including protecting 30% of land and oceans, cutting pollution, and raising conservation finance. The UN says the world needs US$700 billion more a year.
- Talks were dogged by disputes over harmful subsidies, new funding sources, the weak Cali Fund, and attacks on science. Leaders and indigenous groups urged urgent action, and the next summit host may be Panama or Ecuador.
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YEREVAN – Nearly 200 nations on Oct 30 adopted hard-fought agreements at a UN biodiversity summit aimed at putting the world back on track in efforts to halt nature’s destruction by 2030.
The outcome, however, came with disappointment over missed opportunities to address humanity’s destructive toll on nature.
Delegates cheered as the crucial texts were approved in overtime, but celebrations were tempered by acrimonious debates and regret over limited progress on some of the most contentious issues.
The COP17 summit in Armenia sought to revive a landmark commitment to halt and reverse the destruction of nature by 2030 after global efforts to meet that goal fell short.
Over two bruising weeks in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, nations were urged to correct course to keep the pact alive and protect the plants, animals and ecosystems that sustain life on earth.
“And that’s it. Perfect,” said COP17 president Hambardzum Matevosyan to applause, as he brought down the gavel on the documents, the final versions of which were not immediately available.
The world adopted a historic pact in 2022 setting ambitious targets to halt biodiversity loss by 2030. But ahead of the summit, the UN warned that countries would fail to meet the goals unless they urgently correct course.
Most of the objectives are falling short, including targets to protect 30% of earth’s land and oceans, tackle pollution, and provide poorer countries with greater conservation finance.
A draft COP17 text had called on countries to “accelerate” efforts to keep the pact alive.
The much-anticipated text stressed that “increased action” was needed to tackle the root drivers of nature loss.
Highlighting the disagreements that dogged the talks, the document proposed various options to achieve the 2030 goal. It was not immediately clear which of those options made the cut.
The text “needed to respond to the irrefutable evidence that we are off track for our 2030 deadline, and while not particularly exciting or detailed, it’s good news that countries could reach agreement”, Catherine Weller from Fauna and Flora told AFP.
Kirsty Leong, of WWF International, told AFP the “outcome has its strengths and weaknesses but, on balance, it’s a good outcome”.
‘Weak terms’
During negotiations, countries wrangled over reforming subsidies and other incentives that encourage activities harmful to nature, such as fossil fuel use, intensive agriculture and overfishing.
Governments had pledged to reduce this spending but made little progress, with an estimated US$2.4 trillion (S$3.1 trillion) still flowing every year to harmful subsidies.
An Lambrechts from Greenpeace International said it was crucial that spending was switched to nature protection and restoration.
“Even though the agreed decision text expresses it in weak terms, COP17 saw important political momentum to address harmful financial incentives – including subsidies – and that’s urgently needed,” she told AFP.
A separate row revolved around finding new cash sources to fund conservation efforts around the globe – a hot-button issue with public budgets under strain amid an energy crisis and conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
To restore degraded ecosystems, save endangered species and conserve forests, wetlands and other vital natural habitats, the world needs an estimated US$700 billion more every year than it currently spends. The European Union led a charge for wealthy emerging economies such as China to join in paying for global conservation efforts, a contentious issue at COP17.
In a sign of possible compromise, another draft text that circulated on Oct 30 invited countries outside the developed country donors to voluntarily join the group. It did not compel any country to contribute to biodiversity finance but asked for volunteers to “signal interest”.
Science under attack
Efforts to refine the lacklustre Cali Fund – a UN mechanism for sharing profits from corporations that use genetic data from plants and other organisms – also proved difficult.
The fund set out to raise US$1 billion a year for conservation in developing countries when it was launched in early 2025. So far, it has attracted around US$10,000.
Nations have also feuded over key scientific reports, with a handful of countries accused of stonewalling efforts to accept the benchmark findings of a UN-backed biodiversity body.
“The attacks on science have bothered me a lot,” French Ecological Transition Minister Monique Barbut said.
Around 70 ministers joined the negotiations this week, in an effort to nudge things along, while indigenous leaders and civil society activists appealed to nations to act with greater urgency.
At the last biodiversity summit in Colombia in 2024, talks ran overtime as nations haggled over conservation finance and ended without a deal. Negotiations resumed in Rome in 2025 where an agreement was reached.
The COP17 summit was also expected to decide on Oct 30 whether Panama or Ecuador will host the next biodiversity summit in 2028. AFP