Meeting in Yerevan, Armenia, from 19 to 31 October, nearly 200 countries participating in the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP17) adopted decisions aimed at accelerating implementation of global nature protection targets. But the compromises on funding, harmful subsidies and the role of science left several delegations dissatisfied (see EUROPE 13970/5, 13965/1).
COP17 was due, in particular, to take stock of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in 2022. It sets 23 targets to be met by 2030, including protecting 30% of land and oceans, restoring degraded ecosystems and tackling pollution. Most are behind schedule.
The text adopted in Yerevan acknowledges this delay and calls on countries to step up their efforts. Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary of the CBD, described this acknowledgement as a political achievement and highlighted the “Yerevan Pathway”, intended to help countries catch up. She stressed, however, that the decisions would have an effect only if they were put into practice.
Compromises on funding. Discussions also focused on the resources needed to meet the 2030 targets. The European Union argued, in particular, that major emerging economies, including China, should contribute more. The expansion of the official list of donors, which has not been updated since 2006, remains to be discussed.
At a press conference in Yerevan on 28 October, the European Commissioner for Environment, Jessika Roswall, said that current funding was insufficient to close the biodiversity investment gap. She called for more countries to contribute and advocated mobilising private funding, particularly through biodiversity credits, to complement public funds.
Subsidies that encourage activities harmful to nature, such as oil extraction, were also debated. An Lambrechts, of Greenpeace International, said the wording adopted in the decision remained weak, despite “significant political momentum” on harmful financial incentives. On 28 October, Jessika Roswall had said that the EU was pressing for the removal of these subsidies to be mentioned in the text of the global review, which was then under negotiation.
The assessment of the Cali Fund, a benefit-sharing mechanism for digital sequence information on genetic resources, is mixed. The decisions adopted clarify certain aspects of how it operates, but important choices have been deferred until 2028. Jessika Roswall, for her part, had called for a “Cali Fund that works”, urging greater legal certainty and a fair and transparent distribution of benefits.
Science at the heart of tensions. Speaking on behalf of 56 countries, the Swiss representative Gabriela Blatter condemned instances in which scientific evidence is challenged or its consideration obstructed during negotiations. The French Minister for Ecological Transition Monique Barbut also expressed concern about attempts to limit recognition of the work of IPBES, the leading international scientific platform on biodiversity.
Astrid Schomaker rejected the suggestion that science had been weakened in Yerevan. She cited several decisions concerning, in particular, protected areas, forests, agriculture, climate change and invasive alien species. She also highlighted the strengthening of participation by indigenous peoples and local communities.
At the end of the summit, Hambardzum Matevosyan, Armenia’s Minister for the Environment and President of COP17, called the conference a “success”, while acknowledging that the progress made had not met all expectations. He likened the efforts made to “a drop in the ocean” given the scale of the crisis.
Monique Barbut shared that assessment. “The results do not match the scale of the challenges”, the French minister said, arguing that countries could, in particular, have gone further in reducing subsidies harmful to biodiversity.
The conference thus illustrated the difficulties facing multilateralism: countries manage to keep talking, but struggle to adopt commitments ambitious enough to address the environmental emergency. The next CBD COP will be held in Ecuador in 2028. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)