UN talks end in Rome with nations backing $200 billion a year plan to protect nature
The countries agreed on how they would contribute $200 billion a year by 2030 that was committed in principle at an earlier meeting in Montreal. The money includes a plan to raise $20 billion in annual conservation financing for developing nations by 2025, with that number rising to $30 billion annually by 2030, and on details of the Global Biodiversity Framework, which aims at placing 30% of the planet and 30% of degraded ecosystems under protection by 2030.
Earlier this week, the countries also agreed to create the Cali Fund, which will create methods for industries that commercially benefit from biodiversity to contribute to its conservation.
As the meeting concluded late Thursday in Rome, participants stood up and applauded the outcomes.
'The applause is for all of you. You have done an amazing job,' said the COP16 president, Susana Muhamad of Colombia.
COP16's successful conclusion is the first United Nations meeting in many months which ended on a positive note, as various meetings all through last year related to dealing with the global plastic pollution, climate change and the earlier biodiversity meeting itself failed to reach agreements or left many stakeholders disappointed with the outcomes reached.
'These days of work in Rome have demonstrated the commitment of the parties to advance the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework,' said Muhamad who is also Colombia's former environment minister. Muhamad said it was the collective effort of all stakeholders which resulted in the key decisions being agreed upon. 'Only by working together can we make Peace with Nature a reality,' she said.
The two-day meeting addressed issues that were left unresolved in earlier discussions held in Cali, Colombia in late 2024, focusing on securing funds to meet ambitious targets set in Montreal in 2022. The Cali meetings ended without a quorum as talks ran into overtime and too few delegates remained to guarantee that any decisions made had the backing of all U.N. member states.
Linda Krueger, Director of Biodiversity & Infrastructure Policy at The Nature Conservancy, said that in Cali many parties felt that funds created to support biodiversity didn't meet the original goals they had hoped. But in Rome, negotiators were able to agree on a financial 'roadmap' that would allow the body to fulfill its original obligations.
'At a complicated geopolitical moment, this is an exciting show of progress and international cooperation for nature,' she said. "Technocratic as they might sound, these are the details that will transform ambitions on paper into tangible conservation action on the ground."
Oscar Soria, chief executive of The Common Initiative, a think tank, said the decision by the U.N. negotiators marked 'a positive step' toward funding biodiversity efforts, setting clear goals and a review process.
'However, effectiveness will depend on the implementation of the commitments, the availability of financing and the political will of countries to increase their contributions,' he added.
Even though key issues related to funding were finally resolved in the extended meeting in Rome, the COP16 talks in Colombia, which concluded in November, produced several notable agreements, including a landmark deal requiring companies that profit from natural genetic resources, such as developing medicines from rainforest plants, to share those benefits. Progress was also made toward strengthening the role of Indigenous peoples and local communities in conservation efforts.
Scientists say biodiversity is essential for maintaining balanced ecosystems, providing clean air, water and food while supporting climate resilience. It also drives medical discoveries, economic stability, and the well-being of all life on Earth.
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An earlier version of this report incorrectly stated that the meeting ended late on Wednesday.
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The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Steven Grattan And Sibi Arasu, The Associated Press
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