What happened
First, the bad news: Developed countries have not fulfilled their pledge in the Biodiversity Fund to finance $20 billion for biodiversity by 2025. There has been no progress on the pledge to reduce government subsidies that harm biodiversity by $500 billion annually. In fact, since 2022, subsidies that encourage unsustainable production, carbon-intensive consumption, natural resource depletion, or degradation of global ecosystems have already increased by 800 billion dollars Instead of going down. (Paul Pullman gave a Strong speech On topic.)
No wonder some comments were negative.
But despite these issues, the COP has reached concrete agreements that will have a positive impact. If you call for better engagement of indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) in biodiversity decision-making, for example, you will celebrate the “historic moment” of establishing a subsidiary body to Article 8(j). Indigenous peoples and local communities play a crucial role in conserving key biodiversity because they manage or have tenure rights over more than a quarter of the Earth’s land area and are found in approximately 40% of all terrestrial protected areas and ecologically intact landscapes.
Overall, there has been progress by countries since the last conference. As of this COP, 17.6% of terrestrial areas and 8.4% of marine areas are now protected, with protected area coverage increasing since 2020, “more than twice the size of Colombia”, showing “Flashes of promise“, according to UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen. By the end of the COP, 119 countries had submitted national targets aligned with the World Environment Forum and 44 countries submitted national plans to achieve this. Although this is not enough yet, there will be no such plans or goals, let alone achieving a common global ambition, in the absence of these conferences.
Furthermore, COPs are useful in bringing together groups of people with common goals to align visions, share experiences and learn from each other. What happens on the margins of formal policy discussions often affects biodiversity efforts.
Increasingly, “the Biodiversity Conference has evolved into a true meeting place for companies, policymakers, indigenous communities, startups and funders” from its beginnings as a meeting for policymakers only, Superorganism, a venture capital firm created specifically for biodiversity, notes in its report. conclusion. For stakeholders, including business, the COP is the time and place to launch key initiatives, such as the pledge made by more than 230 companies and financial institutions To transform their operations, value chains and entire sectors to contribute to a thriving economy based on healthy ecosystems.