COP16: Urgent Talks on Global Nature Fund End Abruptly Amid Financial Disagreements and Challenges

By Chetna Gill

Cover Image Attribute: COP16-16th United Nations Biodiversity Conference, Cali, Colombia / Source: Fernando Vergara/AP

The 16th United Nations Biodiversity Conference ended abruptly on Saturday as participating countries failed to reach an agreement during extended discussions regarding establishing a new global nature fund. Negotiations in Cali, Colombia, carried on into the early hours of Saturday, but as delegates began to leave for home, Susana Muhamad, the host country's environment minister and president of COP16, suspended the summit due to a lack of quorum.
The primary goal of COP16 was to urgently address the significant biodiversity crisis, furthering a crucial biodiversity agreement adopted in Montreal two years prior. Under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, nearly 200 nations committed to reversing the alarming decline in biodiversity by the end of the decade and generating hundreds of billions of dollars to support these urgent efforts.
Ginette Hemley, senior vice president for wildlife at World Wildlife Fund-US, has described the outcome of COP16 as a mixed bag. She noted significant progress on issues such as benefit-sharing related to genetic information, health, and biodiversity. However, she expressed concern that the need for more advancements in financial commitments would hinder efforts to stop and reverse the loss of nature by 2030.
Despite the last-minute turmoil, COP16 achieved some of its objectives, including the establishment of a new Cali Fund aimed at protecting nature. This fund, with its potential to significantly impact nature protection, will be contributed to by companies that produce goods like pharmaceuticals and cosmetics that rely on genetic data from the natural environment. However, the conference, initially branded as a COP of implementation, fell short of its high aspirations, with many countries failing to submit their plans to comply with the 2022 agreement, and wealthy nations only offering a minimal amount of new funding.
David Ainsworth from the UN Convention on Biological Diversity stated that the conference has yet to conclude officially, and the details regarding when and where it will resume are still to be determined. He emphasized that all agreements reached during COP16 remain valid and in effect.
This includes the new agreement focused on sharing financial benefits derived from digitized genetic resources. The agreement aims to capture a portion of the profits when companies utilize plant genetic information to develop new drugs. According to the terms, companies in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and cosmetics that exceed a specific size must contribute 1% of their profits or 0.1% of their revenue to the Cali Fund. The fund will be managed by the 196 countries that have committed to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.
The mechanism established at COP16 for financial proceeds is optional. The funds will be distributed to countries for nature protection, with at least half, where appropriate, designated for Indigenous peoples and local communities. Pierre du Plessis, a former negotiator for the African bloc of countries, referred to this development as a small step forward. He acknowledged that while the agreement initiates the mechanism and provides a framework for future improvements, it is unlikely to generate the necessary funding at the scale or pace required.
The negotiations faced significant challenges due to complex technicalities, political differences, and lobbying by various interest groups. Brazil's lead negotiator, Gustavo Pacheco, described the talks as incredibly complex, comparing them to quantum physics. Despite the efforts, delegates could not agree on a revised strategy to raise and distribute additional funds for nature protection. This raises concerns ahead of the upcoming global climate summit COP29, where the critical issue will be how to secure funding to assist poorer nations in reducing emissions and addressing the impacts of climate change.
Lina Barrera, senior vice president for policy at Conservation International, pointed out that climate change and biodiversity loss are intertwined crises. Although COP16 made some progress on mutually beneficial actions, it lacked the ambition necessary to drive meaningful change. Crystal Davis, global director of food, land, and water at the World Resources Institute, urged countries to urgently achieve stronger financial outcomes at the upcoming G20 and COP29 meetings, emphasizing the critical need to integrate nature and climate action for the benefit of both people and the planet.
Establishing a new nature fund was a key demand from developing countries, who view the existing Global Environment Facility's Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) as being controlled by wealthier nations. While discussions about the new fund resumed on Saturday, developed countries resisted its establishment, arguing that it would only fragment the biodiversity finance landscape without guaranteeing new funding. Negotiations reached an impasse before Colombia decided to suspend the proceedings. As the talks concluded, about 150 countries still needed to meet the deadline for submitting their plans related to the 2022 pact. The progress on redirecting $500 billion annually from harmful subsidies to nature-friendly initiatives was minimal.
With reporting by Bloomberg.

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