Global nature talks reach deal but money remains an issue — SkimNews
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- Yerevan talks involving nearly 200 countries ran for almost two weeks before delegates agreed early Saturday to the key parts of a new action plan on nature.
- Global Biodiversity Framework set 24 targets in 2022, including protecting 30% of the world’s land and seas by the end of the decade.
- UN says only one of the 24 nature targets is on track and countries are not funding recovery at the required rate after redirecting international aid to defence and repeated energy shocks; 2022 pledges call for $30bn public money and $170bn mobilised privately by the end of the decade.
- Re:wild was among the philanthropists behind half of the more than $1bn pledged at the meeting, with Leonardo DiCaprio’s organisation among the private contributors.
- Cali Fund had attracted only $10,000 in pledges by the meeting’s start against an estimated annual potential of up to $3.6bn, and delegates made little progress because its voluntary design weakens pressure on companies.
- Saudi Arabia and Russia were reported to have frustrated approval of scientific reports on the state of nature; French Ecological Transition Minister Monique Barbut said the attacks on science had “bothered” her greatly.
- Fauna & Flora called the agreement good news but “not particularly exciting or detailed”; The Wildlife Trusts said nature loss remained appalling, while WWF cited recoveries of elephants, green sea turtles and tigers. Countries have also placed 252 million hectares of degraded land under protection, an area larger than Greenland.
Why it matters: The Cali Fund lays bare an equity gap: it had attracted just $10,000 by the meeting’s start against an estimated $3.6bn annual potential, even though companies using genetic material from biodiversity-rich countries should direct money to local communities. The framework needs $30bn public and $170bn private by 2030, so implementation remains underfunded.
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