UN biodiversity conference ends without agreement over new fund to protect nature

The UN biodiversity conference in Cali, also called COP16, has ended without an agreement on the most important item on the agenda, a detailed plan for a global fund to protect nature. The delegates did manage to agree on the creation of a permanent body to represent the interests of Indigenous peoples and of a fund with contributions from big pharma and cosmetics companies.

At the previous UN biodiversity conference, in Montreal, targets were set for nature conservation and biodiversity. These included an agreement to protect 30 per cent of the planet's land and seas by 2030. In Cali, the delegates had to agree on a roadmap to increase the necessary funding. Richer countries would have to come up with money for poorer countries in order to achieve the goals.

The delegates however failed to agree on a financing mechanism to create a concrete fund to protect nature and biodiversity. In the end, after the nightly talks that had gone on until late in the morning, not even enough countries were present to hold another valid vote.

The participants did however manage to approve the creation of a permanent body to represent the interests of Indigenous peoples. This will give them a stronger voice in decisions on nature conservation and biodiversity. Indigenous peoples often live in very rich areas in terms of nature and biodiversity, such as the Amazon forest, and are the first victims of weather extremes due to climate change because they live in such close relationship with nature.

An agreement was also reached on the creation of a fund to which big pharma and cosmetics companies can contribute for products they have only been able to develop thanks to biodiversity. Concretely, they will be able to pay for the use of so-called digital sequence information, genetic data taken from plants and animals. This “Cali Fund” will be used to preserve biodiversity. It’s still unclear how much the fund could raise, and exactly what conditions would apply. The lion's share of the contributions will be voluntary.

^{Delegates attend the last plenary session of the COP16 Summit in Cali, Colombia, on 1 November 2024 © BELGA PHOTO JOAQUIN SARMIENTO / AFP}