UN report warns of funding gaps and lagging nature targets ahead of COP17

A United Nations report released in Yerevan, Armenia, warns that fewer than half of national biodiversity targets are on track and financial commitments for conservation are falling short.

The State of Biodiversity Action report, released Thursday, indicates that national plans to reverse nature loss are currently insufficient to meet global goals. According to UN News, fewer than half of the targets set to protect ecosystems and species are on track. UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated at a press conference that while some progress has been made, the world is effectively waging a "war on nature."

The findings arrive as delegates prepare for the COP17 biodiversity conference, which begins Monday in the Armenian capital. Conservation News reports that fundraising to protect oceans and forests is trailing behind necessary levels. Nations previously committed to raising at least $200 billion by 2030, but environmental groups and conference officials warn that these financial promises are not being met.

Climate Home News reported that the expert-led UN report will be the primary basis for the upcoming negotiations. Over the next two weeks, governments will conduct the first formal stocktake of the Global Biodiversity Framework, an agreement reached in 2022 to guide conservation efforts. A leaders' summit scheduled for Friday is expected to set the political direction for the conference.

A central goal of the framework is to protect 30% of the world's land and marine ecosystems by 2030. However, Climate Home News noted that current filings by individual countries are not yet ambitious enough to achieve this landmark target. Negotiators in Yerevan will focus on creating policy guidelines to accelerate progress before the end of the decade.

Background

In 2022, nations agreed to the Global Biodiversity Framework, a set of 23 targets designed to halt nature loss. The agreement includes a commitment to protect 30% of ecologically important land and water and to raise at least $200 billion by 2030.