The COP17 Congress in Armenia concluded on Saturday with a new promise from countries to accelerate efforts towards nature conservation and the restoration of damaged ecosystems by 2030. However, behind this grand promise, governments still face serious challenges in securing the hundreds of billions of dollars needed to achieve global biodiversity conservation goals.
Financial Challenges in Global Negotiations
Deep and unresolved disagreements over the source of financing are the main reason for these challenges. A member of the Swiss delegation stated before the agreement text was approved: "If we are both dissatisfied, this is probably the closest we can get to these sensitive agreements." After two weeks of negotiations, nearly 200 countries reached a hard-fought agreement to "accelerate the implementation" of the global biodiversity framework.
The Armenian Minister of Environment, Hambardzum Matevosyan, who chaired the congress, stated that negotiators "achieved more than expected." However, in the end, governments could not agree on increasing the number of countries participating in biodiversity financing and merely noted that having more financial resources could be beneficial.
Disagreements Between Wealthy and Emerging Countries
This congress highlighted the growing divide between wealthy countries and emerging nations. Historically wealthy countries, whose economies have caused significant harm to the environment, stand in contrast to emerging wealthy countries, whose economies have grown significantly over the past three decades. Stephen Gilbeau, former Environment Minister of Canada, stated: "This COP was always meant to be difficult, and the true legacy of COP17 will be determined beyond these walls when words must be turned into action."
Negotiators are leaving Armenia with many unresolved issues. Among these issues is attracting more companies that benefit from nature to finance conservation projects through the "Kali Fund," which was established in 2024 to attract private financing towards nature conservation.
At COP17, scientific experts emphasized that one million species are at risk of extinction, and the United Nations has reported a biodiversity financing gap of $700 billion annually. Monique Barbut, France's Minister of Environment, stated in a public session: "We are not on track to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, and we must mobilize all international financial resources."
Negotiations were also prolonged due to disagreements over language related to the participation of indigenous peoples in a key decision-making body within the convention.
The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity emphasizes consensus that wealthy countries should spend more on nature conservation due to the pressures their societies and economies place on global ecosystems. Since the convention was adopted in the 1990s, a group of wealthy countries, including Canada, Australia, Japan, the UK, Switzerland, and Norway, have invested in its implementation efforts. These countries are now calling for other high-income countries to contribute more.
However, non-donor countries, including China, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Argentina, resisted any income-related criteria to determine who should or should not pay. This deadlock angered some countries that could benefit from a larger donor base.
In the end, countries only agreed that "more contributions from more parties could help improve biodiversity financing" and invited others to participate voluntarily. Despite these disagreements, many hailed the final agreement as a victory for green multilateralism.
At the conclusion, the countries present at the congress agreed to strengthen the role of cities and local governments in implementing biodiversity goals and improving how biodiversity financing reaches them.
