Nations Gather At COP17 In Armenia To Rescue Failing Global Biodiversity Targets

Nearly 200 countries are gathering in Armenia on Monday for crucial UN negotiations aimed at rescuing a landmark global biodiversity agreement, as progress towards its 2030 targets continues to fall short.

Four years after nations pledged to halt and reverse nature loss by the end of the decade, governments are struggling to translate their commitments into action. Several targets under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, widely described as the “Paris Agreement for Nature”, are lagging, including the key goal of protecting 30% of the world’s land and oceans.

Efforts to achieve some of the pact’s most challenging objectives, including phasing out subsidies that harm nature and benefit fossil fuel and other extractive industries, have also made limited progress.

“We must honestly admit that collectively, we are not yet on track as needed,” Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Friday ahead of the formal UN negotiations, known as COP17.

The summit comes amid mounting pressure on public finances, with governments grappling with armed conflicts, geopolitical tensions and a global energy crisis that threaten to push biodiversity protection down the political agenda.

Only a handful of world leaders attended a high-level session ahead of the formal negotiations, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and several leaders from neighbouring Central Asian countries.

However, Guterres warned that the stakes could hardly be higher, describing an unrelenting “war on nature” that threatens the planet’s ability to sustain future generations.

“We need more action, more speed and more will,” he said.

“Halfway to 2030, Yerevan is our moment of accountability. It is time to ask ourselves — are we doing enough?”

Biodiversity Targets Falling Behind

A United Nations assessment released ahead of COP17 found that progress was being made towards the framework’s 23 biodiversity targets, but at an uneven pace that leaves the world off track to meet the 2030 deadline.

Financing is expected to be a major point of contention during the negotiations. The assessment warned that efforts to bridge the substantial funding gap for biodiversity conservation remain far below what is required.

Wealthy European and other developed nations, which have obligations to provide financial support for biodiversity protection, have urged major emerging economies, including China, to contribute more towards global conservation efforts.

However, discussions are also expected to focus on mobilising private investment to supplement limited public funding.

One priority is encouraging businesses to contribute a portion of their profits to a UN fund intended to support conservation projects in developing countries, which currently has limited resources.

Guterres Calls Out Harmful Subsidies

Guterres also criticised governments for continuing to financially support industries that damage the environment, despite commitments to reform subsidies harmful to biodiversity.

“Subsidizing fossil fuels is subsidizing suicide,” he said, referring to coal, oil and gas industries that he accused of “boiling our planet and are the scourge of biodiversity.”

Reforming such subsidies is a central challenge for governments seeking to align economic policies with their commitments to protect ecosystems and tackle climate change.

Armenia Hosts Major Global Biodiversity Summit

For Armenia, the mountainous Caucasus nation, COP17 represents one of the largest international events the country has hosted, with thousands of visitors expected over the next two weeks.

The summit is being viewed as a crucial opportunity to assess progress, address financing shortfalls and accelerate action before the 2030 deadline.

Armenian hosts have emphasised that the meeting should focus on implementing existing commitments rather than announcing new promises.

“The world does not need a new vision. We have one. What it needs is delivery,” Adil Najam, global president of WWF International, said on Friday.

With several biodiversity targets slipping behind schedule, the negotiations will test whether governments can turn their existing pledges into concrete action to protect the planet’s ecosystems.