The XVII Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17) faces its last day. For almost two weeks, The Armenian capital has brought together representatives from nearly 200 countries with the aim of accelerating international commitments that, according to the UN itself, are moving too slowly to stop the loss of nature before 2030.
The summit, which concludes tomorrow, has convened the 196 parties to the Convention at the Karen Dermichián Complex. Around 15,000 participants, including government delegations, scientists, international organizations, indigenous peoples and companies, share diagnoses and study solutions, in one of the largest diplomatic events in the recent history of Armenia.
Montreal Agreement
This COP is the first that has evaluated the progress of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in 2022. The framework sets 23 goals to halt and reverse the destruction of ecosystems by 2030. The main ones are to protect at least 30% of the planet’s lands and seas (the “30×30” goal), restore degraded ecosystems and mobilize $200 billion annually for conservation from public and private sources.
The review of compliance with the Montreal agreements presented before the conference reflects uneven progress. Nearly 90% of countries have established national targets and more than half have roadmaps to apply them. However, the sum of the announced commitments would allow approximately 26% of terrestrial ecosystems and only 12% of marine ecosystems to be protected by 2030, percentages lower than the global goal of 30%.
Furthermore, less than half of the countries are advancing at the necessary pace, and none of the 23 goals presents a completely positive balance. The biggest delays are in transforming economic activities that destroy nature, eliminating harmful subsidies and mobilizing resources. There is also a lack of financing, scientific cooperation, technology and data, deficiencies that especially affect developing countries. As summarized UN Secretary General António Guterres “There is a gap between ambition and action.”
One of the main objectives of this Summit is to translate this diagnosis into a common action plan for the coming years. These days, delegations review the quality and comparability of the indicators used by the countries, the reporting schedule and the mechanisms to correct delays. The discussion is not limited to counting protected area, it also analyzes whether policies reduce the pressures that cause habitat degradation, overexploitation of species, pollution and the introduction of invasive species.
30 dollars versus one
Financing occupies a central part of the negotiations. Developing countries demand new and predictable resources to conserve ecosystems, restore degraded areas and strengthen their information systems. Inger Anderson, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) warns that, for every dollar allocated to protecting nature, 30 are channeled towards activities that harm it. In fact, the Secretary General of the United Nations regrets that “money is being spent on the wrong things.” Therefore, the talks address both the mobilization of funds and the gradual reform of harmful subsidies, in addition to access to technology, technical training and scientific cooperation.
Another relevant issue is the distribution of responsibilities between public administrations and the private sector. The global framework calls for companies to assess and communicate their impacts and dependencies on nature. In turn, Governments must integrate biodiversity into economic planningpublic purchases and budgets. For delegations, the challenge is to convert these principles into verifiable national rules without losing sight of different economic and technical capacities.
The European Union has advocated in Yerevan to accelerate commitments and increase financing. The Executive Vice President of the European Commission, Teresa Ribera, highlighted at the Leaders Summit the need to integrate environmental protection into economic policies.
For Guterres, just over two months after leaving office, this COP has a personal component. The until now Secretary General of the United Nations has delivered one of the most resounding speeches of the summit. “Every day humanity cuts a new branch from the tree of life” and recalled that more than a million species are threatened with extinction. He called for moving “from policies that destroy nature to practices that preserve it,” with measures such as the circular economy and regenerative agriculture. He also insisted that biodiversity, climate, health and food security are inseparable. “To address one of these crises, you have to address all the others,” he said.
In the final stretch, a few hours before the end of the Summit, The Armenian presidency tries to finalize the “Yerevan Road Map”designed to guide the execution of commitments over the next four years.