What to expect at COP29 – Building on the Biodiversity Summit

Protecting and restoring nature and biodiversity is synonymous with tackling climate change. Nature provides myriad ecosystem services, such as supplying carbon sinks for climate regulation, and is a powerful tool for adapting to the effects of global warming.  

Today (21 October) is the first formal day of the sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 16) in Cali, Colombia. It is the first Biodiversity COP since the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework at COP 15 in December 2022 in Montreal, Canada. The Framework consists of global targets to be achieved by 2030 and beyond to safeguard and sustainably use biodiversity, including protecting 30% of the world's land and seas by 2030, reducing harmful subsidies, and restoring degraded ecosystems. 

Over the next two weeks, government experts, business leaders, climate researchers, environmental activists and indigenous groups will tackle pressing global challenges in biodiversity protection. COP16 is the largest gathering in the history of this biodiversity summit, attracting representatives from almost every country on the planet, with more than 21,000 pre-registered delegates.  

The significance of the summit and the conversations it fosters is heightened as the harmful consequences of the global economic system rage on, with the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) Living Planet Report 2024 showing a 73% decline in the average size of monitored wildlife populations in just 50 years (1970-2020). 

In the opening ceremony of COP16, UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged delegations from some 190 countries to “make peace with nature” and shore up a plan to stop habitat loss, save endangered species, and preserve our planet’s precious ecosystems.  

At COP16, Parties will review progress on the preparation of targets and updating of national biodiversity strategies and action plans by Parties in line with the Framework, review the strategy for resource mobilisation, explore proposals for a global instrument on biodiversity finance, and identify approaches to mainstreaming biodiversity within and across sectors.  

Susana Muhamad, incoming president of COP16 and Minister of Environment of Colombia, reiterated that over the next two weeks a step must be taken towards the implementation of the Kunming Montreal Global Framework, saying "it is basically a matter of recomposing the way we live, of recomposing the development model, of recomposing, of rethinking, of rediscovering how we live together in diversity, in a system that does not permanently generate nature as a victim of development, that on the contrary our own reproduction as a society reproduces life." 

Moreover, in conjunction with the first day of COP16, the UK government has appointed Ruth Davis OBE as the first Special Representative for Nature. In response to this announcement, she said “the government has recognised that the nature crisis is of equal gravity to the climate crisis; and that we cannot tackle one without addressing the other. Ecosystems and the species they support are essential to maintain food security, reduce health risks and manage the impacts of rising global temperatures.     

I am delighted to be working with colleagues across government, and with partners around the world, to take on this urgent challenge; in particular, ensuring that the rules and incentives that govern the global economy work to protect and restore nature; and that we invest in the commitment, knowledge and passion of local people, who are critical to safeguarding the places where they live.” 

These statements underline COP16’s slogan “Peace with Nature”, a call for reflection to improve the relationship we have with the environment, and to rethink an economic model that does not prioritise the extraction, overexploitation and pollution of nature. Moving towards a global bioeconomy will be the foundation for sustainable development, mainstreaming the use of renewable biological resources to produce goods, services and energy sustainably and efficiently.  

The global bioeconomy is currently estimated to be worth around $4tn, with more than 50 nations having published bioeconomy strategies. However, this is just a drop in the ocean, at roughly 5% of global economic output, a concerted effort based on international and cross-sector cooperation will be vital for harnessing the power of nature to tackle the challenge faced by climate change and biodiversity loss.  

Ten days after COP16 concludes, Parties will reconvene for this year’s UN climate talks in Baku. Nature-based climate action was a key talking point at last year’s COP28 in Dubai. Its Nature, Land Use and Ocean Day saw $186.6 million of new financing for nature and climate towards forests, mangroves, and the ocean, building on the $2.5 billion mobilised to protect and restore nature during COP28’s World Climate Action Summit (WCAS).  

COP29 must continue and take forward these discussions and initiatives from Dubai and Cali. On November 21, the thematic day on Indigenous Peoples / Gender Equality / Nature and Biodiversity / Oceans and Coastal Zones will include a high-level meeting on water to launch the COP29 Declaration on Water for Climate Action.  

The declaration will emphasise the vital role that protecting, conserving, and restoring water resources, water basins, including seas, rivers and lakes, groundwater and other water-related ecosystems play in delivering effective climate action for both mitigation and adaptation. Within the declaration, the Baku Dialogue on Water for Climate Action is to be established as a COP-to-COP collaboration platform for continuous and coherent water-related climate action.  

Further, the Climate Action Innovation Zone, taking place 13-15 November within COP29, will champion nature-based solutions and explore innovations to accelerate the transition to a nature-positive global economy through its flagship forums.  

During the Sustainable Innovation Forum's panel on 'Harnessing Biodiversity for Resilience and Net-Zero Success', Maria Netto, Executive Director at the Insitute for Climate and Society (iCS); Wade Crawfoot, California Secretary for Natural Resources; and Gonzalo Muñoz, UN High-Level Climate Champion for COP25, will delineate the business case for corporations preserving natural habitats and enhancing nature-based solutions, as it is estimated over half of the world’s total GDP is at risk through the destruction of nature.  

The Future Food Systems Hackathon at the Agri-Food Systems Summit will engage all participants across a range of topics. Hilen G. Meirovich, Head of Climate Change at IDB Invest, will host a session on scaling sustainable farming practices, discussing how blending traditional methods with innovative approaches can, amongst other things, enhance biodiversity.  

Join us at the Climate Action Innovation Zone to be part of the movement towards a resilient, nature-positive future. To find out more and to register, please visit: https://events.climateaction.org/innovation-zone/whats-on/flagship-events/ 

For further information on COP16: https://www.cbd.int/conferences/2024