In assessing the outcomes of COP16, it is important to keep the scale of the biodiversity crisis in mind. One-third of tree species face extinction. 90% of global marine fish stocks are now fully exploited or overfished. Deforestation increased last year, and scientists have warned that continuing biodiversity loss risks increased disease pandemics. There is no path to meet global biodiversity and climate goals without conserving at least 30% of the world’s lands and ocean and closing the massive biodiversity finance gap.
Unfortunately, too many countries and UN officials came to Cali without the urgency and level of ambition needed to secure outcomes at COP16 to address our species’ most urgent existential issue.
Failure to make progress on finance in the face of unprecedented biodiversity loss keeps the world on the path to nature loss and species extinction. Every COP needs to demonstrate ambition, rapid progress, and increased global cooperation. We are past the point where half-measures will suffice. Moving forward, government leaders need to make biodiversity a much higher political priority, especially in treasuries. There is no more important issue than ensuring a viable future for all life on Earth.
The suspension of the COP without any agreed-upon finance strategy is alarming. Governments need to immediately put in place high-level political leadership to create a plan of action for the policies and funding needed to meet the targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework. They don’t need to wait for an intersessional meeting or the next COP to act with urgency, and I encourage countries to go far beyond the minimum actions taken at COP16 and instead show the children of the world and all the species we share the planet with, that we care about their future and will urgently act to secure a liveable planet.
Countries will now need to put nature, and particularly nature finance higher on the priority list during the climate COP in Baku this month and the baton also passes to Brazil to drive that agenda until COP30.
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