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Reactions as UN biodiversity talks conclude, deliver some progress after delays – EnviroNews
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Governments have reached agreement at the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP17) after negotiations ran into overtime, but the outcomes have raised fresh concerns over whether the world is moving fast enough to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030. The summit also saw Quito, Ecuador, selected to host the next UN Biodiversity Conference (COP18) in 2028.
COP17 marked the first Global Review of progress under the landmark Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, exposing major gaps between commitments and delivery, particularly on finance, subsidies and ocean protection.
While governments reached consensus on several key biodiversity finance issues, concerns remain over the pace and scale of action needed to address the biodiversity crisis. With just four years remaining to meet global biodiversity targets, attention now turns to whether governments can translate the decisions reached in Yerevan into meaningful implementation on the ground, as the UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) approaches in Türkiye.
Reactions from conservation, negotiator and political leaders have trailed the conference outcomes.
Steven Guilbeault, former Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change, commented: “Four years ago, I helped negotiate the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, a landmark agreement to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030. We knew then that there was no time to lose. Four years later, the results from COP17 make one thing painfully clear: nature cannot afford the pace of our politics.
“There has been progress here in Yerevan, and the adoption of the Yerevan Pathway is an important step forward. But the package of action agreed at COP17 falls short of what is needed to meet our 2030 commitments. The Global Review shows just how much remains to be done, particularly in the ocean, where only around 10% is currently protected or conserved. We have four years left to meet the 30% target and deliver on the Framework’s wider biodiversity goals. We need to move much faster if we are to succeed.
“Finance remains one of the greatest obstacles. While new funding commitments are welcome, they fall far short of what is needed. We need to mobilise substantially more public and private finance, reform subsidies that harm nature, and ensure that funding reaches the countries and communities on the frontlines of the nature crisis. The continued difficulties in securing meaningful contributions to the Cali Fund is especially disappointing. Fair and effective benefit-sharing from the use of digital sequence information on genetic resources is a test of whether global biodiversity cooperation can deliver on its promises of equity.
“Steps to strengthen the participation of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in biodiversity decision-making are welcome, although governments should have gone further. Their rights, knowledge and leadership are essential to effective and equitable conservation, and more must be done to ensure their meaningful participation.
“When we adopted the Framework in 2022, we knew that reaching these targets would require political will and sustained international cooperation. That remains true today. The Yerevan Pathway gives us a way forward, but it is what governments do in the next four years that will determine whether we succeed.”
Brianna Fruean, climate and ocean activist from Samoa, Together for the Ocean ambassador, said: “COP17 was supposed to be a turning point for global biodiversity action. Instead, the world’s biodiversity commitments are limping forward. Funding is nowhere near what’s needed, political divisions continue to hold back progress, and communities are paying the price.
“For Pacific Islanders, the gap between promises and action is painfully real. We are the ocean and the ocean is us. But we are forced to watch it unravel around us, with corals bleaching, marine life fading, seas rising and storms intensifying as the super El Niño takes hold.
“The world is running out of time while political leaders argue over words and punctuation. There were glimmers of hope in Armenia, including agreement on the need to accelerate action through the Yerevan Pathway and some progress towards giving Indigenous Peoples and local communities a more meaningful role in global biodiversity decisions. But we have seen nowhere near the urgency or action needed. And failing to agree on stronger recognition of the High Seas Treaty is deeply disappointing, when the shared ocean beyond national borders covers nearly half our planet.
“The world’s attention now turns to COP31 in Türkiye, where leaders must recognise that the nature and climate crises are inseparable. We cannot afford another summit where progress falls short of the urgency we face. The science is clear, the solutions exist and the targets are agreed. It is time for governments to muster the political will to deliver them.”
Brian O’Donnell, Director, Campaign for Nature, stated: “COP17 has taken place against a difficult global backdrop, but there are reasons for cautious optimism. The growing number of national biodiversity plans shows that ambition remains strong on the road to 30×30, while the Netherlands’ new commitment to the Tropical Forest Forever Facility is a welcome sign of political leadership.
“But progress remains far too slow. Just 12% of the ocean is on track for protection by 2030, far short of the 30% goal, while new research shows international funding for protected and conserved areas has fallen for the second consecutive year, from more than $1.2 billion in 2023 to $1 billion in 2025.
“The real test will be what happens beyond the negotiating rooms. Governments must build on this momentum, reverse the decline in nature finance, and turn their promises into action on the ground. Rich countries spend more than 10 times as much money on chewing gum each year as they spend on advancing 30×30 in developing countries. Now is the time to invest in nature, and deliver on critical nature and climate goals for a more sustainable, resilient global future.”
Rebecca Hubbard, Director, High Seas Alliance said: “With just 1.5% of the High Seas protected, the High Seas Treaty provides the biggest opportunity to close the gap on reaching at least 30% protection of the ocean by 2030. A key message coming out of the CBD COP17 from governments, stakeholders and rightsholders is the need to accelerate ocean protection and the unprecedented opportunity the High Seas Treaty offers, not least because it does not have to be hostage to consensus.
“Many of these same governments will meet again at the first High Seas Treaty COP in January- an important test on their commitment to accelerate biodiversity protection coming out of the CBD COP. They must be prepared to act boldly – ensuring this first conference is the rising tide that lifts all boats – and agree to stronger, faster, more transparent and accountable action to equitably protect the ocean.”
Pauli Merriman, Interim Senior Director, Oceans, WWF International, said: “The message from the Global Review at COP17 is clear: we are not moving fast enough to deliver on the promise of the Global Biodiversity Framework, and the implementation gap is particularly stark in the ocean. Currently, only around 10% of the ocean is protected and conserved, and existing national commitments would take us to just 12% by 2030, far short of the 30% target. Progress in tackling unsustainable fishing – a key driver of marine biodiversity loss – is also uneven, while funding for ocean conservation remains a fraction of what is needed.
“Coral reefs show just what is at stake. Despite their extraordinary importance for biodiversity, and the fact that nearly one billion people rely on them for food, livelihoods and coastal protection, less than 10% of warm-water reefs are fully or highly protected. With the climate crisis accelerating and ocean temperatures rising, there is no time for delay. We need to move beyond words to action that matches the scale and urgency of the challenge.
“COP17’s Yerevan Pathway must be the catalyst for accelerated action, turning promises on paper into protection in the water through effective and equitable conservation, long-term, accessible finance and stronger international cooperation. This is what it will take to deliver for people and nature at the scale and speed urgently needed.”
Ms. Carina Pimenta, National Secretary for Bioeconomy, Brazil said: “At a time of growing global uncertainty, the Yerevan Declaration sends a powerful message: world leaders recognise that protecting biodiversity is essential to food security, livelihoods and economic resilience. But political commitment alone will not reverse nature loss. We must now turn ambition into action, transforming the sectors driving biodiversity loss and putting nature at the heart of how we produce food and build prosperity.
“As a proud member of the Alliance of Champions for Food Systems Transformation, Brazil is aiming to demonstrate what is possible, with 3.4 million hectares of native vegetation already under restoration and deforestation in the Amazon falling to its lowest rate in over a decade. But isolated progress is not enough. We need stronger coordination across agriculture, environment and finance, alongside accessible, long-term investment to create sustainable food systems that deliver for local communities on the ground.”
Catherine Weller, Global Policy Director, Fauna & Flora, said on the close of COP17: “To keep countries focused on the biodiversity crisis, it was important that we got something over the line in Yerevan. After a tough two weeks of negotiations, COP17 closes with consensus on the two biggest sticking points of the conference: the Global Review and Resource Mobilisation. But while we may have success on paper, there’s much more to be done to turn what has been agreed here in Yerevan into real, positive outcomes for our planet’s precious biodiversity.
“The conversation has moved forward on the reduction and redirection of subsidies harmful to nature, even if the final text could have been much stronger. Now, it is imperative that countries turn this promise into reality as early as possible. And we need to see ambition from all sectors and sources in mobilising funds for biodiversity protection and delivering it to the local level: whether the private sector, philanthropy or government, or through nature markets. In a world of trillionaires, we can certainly afford to spend $200 billion a year on protecting and restoring the very thing keeping us all alive: nature.
“The Global Review decision needed to respond to the irrefutable evidence that we are off track for our 2030 deadline, and while not particularly exciting or detailed, it’s good news that countries could reach agreement. We cannot just plod on to 2030 without a course correction; nature is critical to all life on Earth: to our economies, to our wellbeing. Importantly the decision emphasises the need to accelerate action towards achieving the Global Biodiversity Framework targets, and on making resources more accessible to Indigenous People and local communities. Of course, countries who wanted more ambition in the COP17 outcomes can still lead by example at home, and in other fora.
“An ironic truth is that many delegates here at COP17 will now have a very quick turnaround before they head to Antalya for climate COP31. With two key texts agreed on the synergies between biodiversity and climate change and their respective conventions, COP17 sets a helpful benchmark for COP31 – a reminder that nature is a critical ally in both mitigating and building resilience to climate change, and that, in turn, global biodiversity targets cannot be realised if the world keeps burning fossil fuels.”
Pauli Merriman, Interim Senior Director of Oceans, WWF International, commented: “The message from the Global Review at COP17 is clear: we are not moving fast enough to deliver on the promise of the Global Biodiversity Framework, and the implementation gap is particularly stark in the ocean. Currently, only around 10% of the ocean is protected and conserved, and existing national commitments would take us to just 12% by 2030, far short of the 30% target. Progress in tackling unsustainable fishing – a key driver of marine biodiversity loss – is also uneven, while funding for ocean conservation remains a fraction of what is needed.
“Coral reefs show just what is at stake. Despite their extraordinary importance for biodiversity, and the fact that nearly one billion people rely on them for food, livelihoods and coastal protection, less than 10% of warm-water reefs are fully or highly protected. With the climate crisis accelerating and ocean temperatures rising, there is no time for delay. We need to move beyond words to action that matches the scale and urgency of the challenge.
“COP17’s Yerevan Pathway must be the catalyst for accelerated action, turning promises on paper into protection in the water through effective and equitable conservation, long-term, accessible finance and stronger international cooperation. This is what it will take to deliver for people and nature at the scale and speed urgently needed.”
Guido Broekhoven, Global Director of Multilateral Policy at WWF International, commented: “Biodiversity is not just about wildlife; it’s about the life support systems that sustain our lives and economies. Nature provides the food in our kitchens, the clean water from our taps, pollination for crops, and healthy soils that underpin global food security. Against the wave of pressures governments are facing domestically right now, Parties have come together in Yerevan to agree on collective efforts to boost action for nature – that’s something to be proud of.”
Linda Krueger, Global Director for Biodiversity and Infrastructure Policy, The Nature Conservancy, said: “After two weeks of often-fraught negotiations, COP17 ended with agreement on approximately 50 official decisions aimed at addressing the biodiversity crisis and accelerating implementation of 2022’s Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Uncertain until the early hours of Saturday, this outcome keeps countries moving forward on several important issues, despite concerns it would fall short of delivering at the scale the nature crisis demands.
“The ‘Yerevan Pathway’ is a new set of key decisions on the Global Review of Progress and finance, along with initiatives led by the Armenian COP presidency. This points toward the systemic changes needed to achieve the 2030 goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, including tackling the drivers of biodiversity loss and shifting financial incentives away from activities that harm nature. The question now is whether governments will move fast enough to actually deliver them at a time of so many other competing demands.
“Yerevan was also the first COP since the creation of a formal body to enable participation of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in CBD decision-making. A package of new decisions made at COP17 built on this recognition by established procedures for cementing the participation of these communities, whose knowledge and rights are integral to the success of conservation efforts across many critical landscapes.
“This COP also exposed worrying pressure on some of the foundations of effective environmental action. The role of science – including the rigorous international assessments conducted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) – should not be something we repeatedly have to defend. Science lies at the heart of the Convention and must continue to guide its decisions.
“The scale of the financing challenge remains particularly stark. Some progress was made on implementing the financing roadmap agreed to at CBD-COP16 in Cali, but Yerevan highlighted that the level of resources available remains far short of what’s needed. Governments cannot allow continuing arguments over the architecture of biodiversity finance to distract from the urgent task of mobilising and redirecting money towards nature.
“The hard-won decisions taken in Yerevan demonstrated both the value and the limitations of multilateral negotiations. At a time of accelerating nature loss, we cannot mistake compromise for sufficient progress or wait for UN negotiations alone to deliver change.
“There must be no pause after COP17. Governments, business and finance all need to move faster. And as attention turns to COP31, one reality must remain front and centre: there is no credible path to tackling climate change without tackling nature loss too.”
Tom Pickerell, Global Director, Ocean Program, World Resources Institute, said: “COP17 felt different from previous biodiversity summits. The focus has shifted from agreeing the Global Biodiversity Framework to the challenge of implementing it. The first Global Review illustrates the scale of that challenge: nearly 90% of countries have set national biodiversity targets, yet fewer than half of the targets assessed are on track.
“For the ocean, COP17 negotiations present a mixed picture. Governments have acknowledged that the ocean receives less attention than land, and we have seen small steps forward, but significant questions remain over how the Convention on Biological Diversity will work alongside the new High Seas Treaty.
“The ocean is becoming more visible on the global biodiversity agenda, but it is not yet fully integrated into how countries deliver their commitments. With just four years until 2030, the priority must be turning ambition into measurable results for nature, from effective protection and restoration to sustainable management of fisheries and the wider ocean.”
