{"id":2931,"date":"2026-10-19T10:03:45","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T05:03:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=2931"},"modified":"2026-10-19T10:03:45","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T05:03:45","slug":"world-faces-nature-reality-check-at-un-biodiversity-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=2931","title":{"rendered":"World faces nature reality check at UN biodiversity conference"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

World leaders, diplomats and nature experts gather in Armenia this week to assess lagging efforts to halt biodiversity loss, with \u200bcountries off track on most global targets and divisions over funding still unresolved.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 17th UN \u201cConference of the Parties\u201d, dubbed COP17, is \u200cthe first major review of progress under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the landmark 2022 agreement that aims to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030. The climate-focused COP31 begins on November 9 in Antalya, Turkey.<\/p>\n

While the world is likely to reach an estimated 27.5% of land protection by 2030, scientists say many of the broader goals needed \u200bto halt biodiversity loss remain well off track.<\/p>\n

From pesticide use to unsustainable fishing and subsidies for a host of damaging activities, the \u200bdeterioration of ecosystems threatens food production, water security and economic stability across the planet.<\/p>\n

Countries are currently not on track \u2060to meet 22 of the 23 goals set out in the Kunming-Montreal framework, a draft UN report showed.<\/p>\n

While the UN says 144 countries, including Brazil \u200band China, have so far created action plans, who pays and how much towards a $30 billion public finance goal is less clear. They will be central \u200bto two weeks of talks in Armenia\u2019s capital, Yerevan.<\/p>\n

The broader goal is to mobilise at least $200 billion per year by 2030.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Subsidy reform<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Another major focus is reforming $500 billion a year of subsidies for activities that damage nature, with governments urged to set a two-year timeline to identify and redirect the most damaging ones.<\/p>\n

That could, for example, include those that \u200bencourage farmers to cut down rainforest or the offer of state discounts on synthetic fertilisers and chemical pesticides which damage soil and water.<\/p>\n

Doing so would \u200bhelp governments address nature loss and related issues like food and energy security without committing more public money at a time of war, energy crises and other inflationary \u200cpressures.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t \u2060primarily a conservation story,\u201d said Eva Zabey, CEO of the non-profit Business for Nature at a media briefing. \u201cIt\u2019s an economic, fiscal, political and competitiveness story, which is grounded in resilience and resource security.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than 130 businesses including retailer H&M and consumer goods company Nestle issued an open letter ahead of the talks urging governments,<\/a> to set clearer policies and a plan to reform incentives over the next 12 months, arguing that it would help make it more attractive \u200bto invest.<\/p>\n

Subsidies ultimately cost governments between $11 trillion \u200band $24.7 trillion a year, non-profit \u2060Conservation International estimates, as they often pay twice – once for the subsidies and again to patch up the damage that follows, including cleaning up pollution, treating illness and repairing infrastructure.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Bigger role for private sector<\/strong><\/h3>\n

With public money tight, many are \u200blooking to the private sector to play a bigger role, including through the Cali Fund.<\/p>\n

That fund was \u200bset up in 2025 \u2060to get companies which rely on digital databases of biological samples for their products, such as in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and commercial agriculture industries, to help pay to preserve nature.<\/p>\n

Details still to be ironed out include how funds should be shared between countries and Indigenous communities, and whether companies should contribute based on total \u2060revenue when \u200bonly part of their business relies on these genetic resources.<\/p>\n

For Cristi\u00e1n Samper, managing director and \u200bleader of Nature Solutions at the Bezos Earth Fund, the talks are also an opportunity for governments to do more to halt the extinction of species.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know recovery is possible. The decisions \u200bwe make in Armenia should give more conservation teams the backing to make it happen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

World leaders, diplomats and nature experts gather in Armenia this week to assess lagging efforts to halt biodiversity loss, with \u200bcountries off track on most global targets and divisions over funding still unresolved. The 17th UN \u201cConference of the Parties\u201d, dubbed COP17, is \u200cthe first major review of progress under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the landmark 2022 agreement that aims to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030. The climate-focused COP31 begins on November 9 in Antalya, Turkey. While the world is likely to reach an estimated 27.5%…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english"],"gutentor_comment":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2931\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}