UN Biodiversity COP16 to Reconvene Next Week in Rome

To date, 124 countries, representing the majority of the 196 Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), submitted national biodiversity targets reflecting alignment with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), adopted at COP15 in Montreal. Additionally, 46 countries have submitted National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (NBSAPs) - the policy documents that support the implementation of national targets.

From October 21 – November 1 2024, over 23,000 delegates including Heads of States, business leaders, NGOs and civil society gathered in Cali, Colombia, for COP16 under the theme “Peace with Nature”. 

Biodiversity and Climate Change 

At COP16 Parties adopted 27 decisions to advance progress toward achieving the 23 action targets of the KMGBF, including one related to biodiversity and climate change. 

Natural carbon sinks, such as oceans and forests, play a crucial role in absorbing and storing carbon dioxide, offering nature-based solutions to mitigate climate change. Additionally, biodiversity strengthens climate adaptation and resilience. Simultaneously, climate change is one of the major drivers of biodiversity loss, with global warming negatively affecting species and ecosystems around the world, particularly the most vulnerable ecosystems such as coral reefs, mountains and polar ecosystems.   

A landmark decision was adopted on Biodiversity and Climate Change with an important reference to the ocean-climate-biodiversity nexus. The text notably calls upon the Presidents of COP 16 of the CBD and COP 29 and COP 30 of the UNFCCC to strengthen multilateral coordination. The decision also requests the Executive Secretary of the CBD, Astrid Schomaker, to invite Parties, observers and other stakeholders to submit their views on options for enhanced policy coherence, including a potential joint work programme of the three Rio conventions, CBD, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) by May 2025. 

Delivering on Biodiversity Finance 

COP16 was suspended due to loss of quorum before the remaining agenda items could be considered for adoption. The session will resume from 25–27 February at the UN FAO headquarters in Rome. 

Pending decisions include those on resource mobilisation, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) monitoring framework, and the financial mechanism. 

In December, the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) published the Assessment Report on the Interlinkages Among Biodiversity, Water, Food and Health. The report highlights that more than half of global gross domestic product – around $58 trillion of annual economic activity around the world – is moderately to highly dependent on nature. It also estimates an annual financing gap of up to $1 trillion for biodiversity, while public subsidies of up to $1.7 trillion incentivise biodiversity loss, distorting trade and increasing resource pressure. 

When COP16 reconvenes next week, Parties will consider a new Strategy for Resource Mobilisation to help secure $200 billion annually by 2030 from all sources to support biodiversity initiatives worldwide, in line with Target 19 of the KMGBF. Target 18 of the KMGBF addresses harmful incentives, aiming to reduce them by at least $500 billion per year by 2030, starting with those most harmful. It also includes the scale up of positive incentives for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. 

Discussions will also look at the possible creation of a new dedicated global financing instrument for biodiversity to receive, disburse, mobilise and articulate funding needs. Current dedicated funds includes the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF), agreed at COP 15 in 2022 and established by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).  The fund accepts contributions from governments, the private sector, and philanthropies, and finances high-impact projects in developing regions, with emphasis on supporting countries with fragile ecosystems, such as small island states and economies in transition. Up to November 2024, a total of $383 million had been pledged to the GBFF by 12 sovereign and subnational contributors: Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Province of Québec, Spain, and the United Kingdom. 

The Kunming Biodiversity Fund (KBF) was launched at COP16 with a US $200 million contribution from the Government of China. The KBF “supports accelerated action to deliver 2030 Agenda and SDG targets and 2050 goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, particularly in developing countries”. 

As COP16 reconvenes, delivering on biodiversity finance will be crucial to turning ambition into action by supporting countries in implementing their NBSAPs. 

Notes at end:

Climate Action is delighted to launch the Climate Action Nature Series, which will build critical momentum in the nature and biodiversity space, ahead of and during COP30 in Brazil. The inaugural event in the Nature series will be the Nature Finance Forum Europe (NFF-EU), co-located with the 8th annual edition of the Sustainable Investment Forum Europe in Paris on 28th April. Convened in partnership with UNEP FI, the Nature Finance Forum will catalyse capital flows to nature markets and projects by bringing institutional investors together with specialist nature funds, corporations and project operators developing investable, nature-regenerative solutions.

The Climate Action Coalition’s Nature & Biodiversity Taskforce will explore the integration of biodiversity and nature into climate change policies, strategies, and actions.  The Taskforce will support the pivot to nature positive land use, bringing together stakeholders to explore and progress credible, ambitious opportunities and pathways forward.  Find out more here: Nature & Biodiversity Taskforce - Climate Action Coalition