Global Nations Reach Nature Action Plan Agreement Amid Funding and Implementation Concerns
Delegates from nearly 200 countries in Yerevan reached a new agreement on a global action plan to protect nature. However, the talks highlighted significant financial barriers and the urgent need for a course correction to combat the ongoing mass extinction crisis.
BBC World
Nations gathered in Yerevan, Armenia, for nearly two weeks to negotiate a new global agreement on nature, successfully agreeing on the key parts of a new action plan early Saturday morning. The meeting president, Hambardzum Matevosyan, stated that the agreement was a successful outcome of the intense discussions.
This new framework builds upon the 2022 Global Biodiversity Framework, a landmark deal where countries committed to halting and reversing the decline of nature. That previous agreement included 24 targets, such as dedicating 30% of the world's land and seas to protection by the end of the decade.
Despite the agreement, participants acknowledged that global efforts are falling short. Scientists warn that the world is currently experiencing a sixth mass extinction event, with species becoming extinct at 100 times the natural rate due to human activities. The UN noted that external data suggests the world is currently on track to achieve only one of the two dozen established targets.
Environmental advocates stressed that a course correction is essential, noting that nature is critical to global economies and well-being. While countries have successfully protected 623 million acres of degraded land—an area larger than Greenland—the primary barrier to accelerating these efforts remains financial.
In 2022, nations pledged $30 billion towards nature recovery by the end of the decade, alongside a mobilization goal of $170 billion from private sources. However, the UN reported that many nations have redirected international aid toward defense budgets and energy shocks, preventing pledges from meeting the required targets.
During the recent meeting, over $1 billion was pledged, with half of that funding coming from philanthropists, including Leonardo DiCaprio's Re:wild organization. Anna Ducros, a researcher at the International Institute for Environment and Development, noted progress regarding commitments to reduce subsidies for environmentally harmful industries, such as large-scale trawling.
Discussions also touched upon the Cali Fund, designed to allow private companies to profit from using genetic material found in the environment. However, progress on this voluntary fund was minimal. Craig Bennett, CEO of The Wildlife Trusts, argued that companies profiting from rich biodiversity should be required to pay the communities where that material originates.
Finally, the process faced political challenges, particularly regarding the approval of scientific reports. French Ecological Transition Minister Monique Barbut expressed concern over attacks on science, a sentiment echoed by Prof David Lee of Manchester University, who warned that political maneuvering should not interfere with the scientific outputs of bodies like the IPCC.