This week, representatives from various countries in Rome finalized a plan to mobilize $200 billion in financing by 2030 to halt and reverse the destruction of the natural world. This agreement marks a significant step forward in global biodiversity conservation efforts.
The negotiations, part of COP16—the UN Biodiversity Conference—began last October in Colombia but stalled over key issues, including funding contributions, fundraising mechanisms, and oversight. The agreement reached on Thursday night, led by negotiators from the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), secures a commitment to generate at least $200 billion annually from diverse sources for nature conservation.
Susana Muhamad, COP16 President and Colombia’s Environment Minister, hailed the agreement as a victory for nature and multilateralism in a politically fragmented year marked by diplomatic tensions. “From Cali to Rome, we’ve sent a message of hope that protecting the environment, preserving life, and prioritizing the common good over national interests is still achievable,” Muhamad stated.
The agreement also highlights the success of Canadian diplomacy. It builds on the Montreal Milestone Agreement of 2022, where countries pledged to protect 30% of the world’s land and oceans. Canadian negotiators, led by Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, played a pivotal role in the complex talks involving 196 nations.
Since then, Canada has championed domestic funding for conservation, including a $200 million investment announced Thursday to support Inuit initiatives in the Arctic. The delegates also agreed to explore the need for a new biodiversity fund, as requested by some developing countries, or to utilize existing mechanisms like the Global Environment Facility (GEF), which has allocated over $23 billion to nature projects over the past three decades.
“The spirit of compromise prevailed, and the outcome is very positive, particularly for developing countries,” Maria Angelica Ikeda, Director of the Environment Ministry at Brazil’s Foreign Ministry, told Reuters at the conclusion of the plenary session on Thursday. “I left the meeting feeling happy and optimistic.”
The urgency for action has intensified in recent years. Data from the World Wide Fund for Nature’s 2024 Living Planet Report reveals that global wildlife populations have declined by an average of 73% since 1970. In the negotiation rooms, frustration escalated among countries like Brazil, Egypt, and Panama, which criticized wealthy nations for failing to meet their financial commitments.
Georgina Chandler of the Zoological Society of London urged governments to fulfill their pledge of $30 billion annually by 2030 to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. The Rome agreement sets the stage for implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), adopted in 2022, which outlines ambitious environmental goals.
Countries also agreed on technical guidelines to monitor progress toward the GBF and committed to publishing national biodiversity plans at the next COP17 conference, scheduled for Armenia in 2026. This agreement comes at the start of a busy year for international climate diplomacy, with events addressing plastic pollution, ocean conservation, and global development goals before the COP30 climate summit in November.
