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Climate Home News

2/24/2025, 5:49:41 PM

Hello! As with previous summits, we’ll be resuming daily updates during the UN biodiversity conference COP16 2.0, which is starting tomorrow in Rome. Countries are set to wrap up discussions on finance for nature. If you’re confused about why there’s another UN biodiversity summit, COP16 ended abruptly in Cali, Colombia, after an 11-hour final plenary lost quorum. Now, governments have to pick things up from where they left them. Notably, there wasn’t a decision on how to channel funds for biodiversity conservation. 13 ministers have so far confirmed attendance —including Canada, France, and the DRC. But observers say the lack of high-level political presence might become an issue when unlocking difficult finance talks. The meeting is lead by Susana Muhamad, who held a press conference today as COP16 president and Colombia’s environmental minister. She’s set to leave her job as minister next Monday. We’ll keep you updated on key news about the biodiversity talks. In the meantime, you can refresh your memory on the major issues up for discussion with these resources: - *COP16 hands power to Indigenous people but fails to bridge the nature finance gap* – our summary from Cali: https://www.climatechangenews.com/2024/11/03/cop16-hands-power-to-indigenous-people-but-fails-to-bridge-nature-finance-gap-results/ - *A video explainer on what to expect in Rome*: https://www.instagram.com/p/DGc1nnIiWKE/ Thank you for being here! If you have any specific questions, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Climate Home News

2/25/2025, 3:07:59 PM

*UN talks on biodiversity conservation resumed action today, as countries arrive in Rome with a key mission to unlock negotiations on finance.* They need to come up with a plan to mobilise $200 bn per year by 2030 for nature conservation, of which $30 bn should come from international finance. At the opening plenary, countries largely stuck to their old positions. The main point of contention is the financial instrument - where the biodiversity fund should be housed. Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo are still calling for the creation of an entirely new fund, while the EU wants a fund hosted by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Speaking of funds, countries have taken a new financial step with the launch today of the Cali Fund, an instrument agreed four months ago in Colombia to receive voluntary contributions from companies that use genetic material from biodiversity. This includes sectors such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and cosmetics.

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2/26/2025, 7:50:47 PM

*First draft on finance lands* Late in the afternoon in Rome, the COP16 presidency unveiled the first new draft on finance for biodiversity - the most contentious issue of the resumed session of the conference. The text proposes a roadmap with several milestones in the coming COPs - including an assessment of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) - and concluding at COP19 in 2030 with the adoption or rejection of a new biodiversity fund governed by the COP. Reactions were mixed, with most countries asking for more time to analyse the paper. Lack of time was precisely the problem in Cali and this resumed session is supposed to end by tomorrow. Some delegations said at the evening plenary they'd be working ovenight to bring back changes in time. UK, Norway and the European Union said the text moved in the right direction, The UK delegate said they would have "very difficult conversations" with his capital, but that it "probably means we’re moving in exactly the right direction towards a package that's balanced". Other countries were more critical, among them Panama and Bolivia, who urged for a faster roadmap. "Biodiversity cannot wait for a bureaucratic process that lasts forever while the environmental crisis continues to get worse," said the Bolivian delegate. Panama expressed concerns about that the "lack of ambition" in the text. Read the draft text here: https://www.cbd.int/doc/c/b198/d568/6753e51ed55172d3307202d3/cop-16-l-34-rev1-en.pdf

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2/27/2025, 10:04:31 PM

*Decision on finance at COP16.2* In a late night plenary, *the resumed COP16 session adopted a new finance roadmap*, which will assess the creation of a new biodiversity fund and devise a funding strategy by 2030. Some developing countries criticised this approach, arguing it lacks ambition and urgency. On finance, the most contentious issue of the negotiations, countries agreed to create two separate work streams: one on the "financial mechanism" for biodiversity funds and a another one seeking to "improve the mobilization of finance from all sources". The current biodiversity fund sits under the Global Environment Facility (GEF) under an interim arrangement until 2030. The new finance roadmap will decide where the fund will be housed permanently after that date, wither under a new mechanism or under the GEF. In a plenary yesterday, some developing countries were critical of this approach. "Biodiversity cannot wait for a bureaucratic process that lasts forever while the environmental crisis continues to get worse," said the delegate from Bolivia. In an amotional final plenary and with tears in her eyes, COP16 president and Colombia's outgoing environment minister Susana Muhammad said: "I announce officially that we have given legs, arms and muscle to the Kunming-Montreal biodiversity framework". You can read the decision here: https://www.cbd.int/doc/c/1680/7842/77691d12e0dce395ff93df8d/cop-16-l-34-rev2-en.pdf

Climate Home News

2/28/2025, 1:00:07 PM

*What happened at COP16.2?* - Countries adopted a financial roadmap that will work towards a 2030 deadline, pushing back a final decision on how to channel scarce funding to help countries protect nature. - ⁠Countries agreed to create two separate workstreams running until 2030: one focused on the “financial mechanism” to channel funds for biodiversity and another seeking to “improve the mobilization of finance from all sources”. - ⁠Countries also adopted a monitoring framework for the global biodiversity pact, which includes a set of indicators for countries to track progress on their national biodiversity strategies and action plans. - ⁠The Cali Fund was launched, which will receive voluntary contributions from companies that use genetic material from biodiversity. It is still to receive donations yet. Read more in this summary by our special projects editor, Sebastián Rodríguez. 👉🏼 https://www.climatechangenews.com/2025/02/28/un-biodiversity-talks-finance-2030-roadmap-fund-nature/