(Posted 16th November 2026)
Courtesy of Rhett Ayers Butler / LinkedIn
COP17 has ended. The UN biodiversity summit was supposed to help countries make good on their promises to protect nature. So what happened?
Most biodiversity targets are off track
COP17 marked the first formal review of progress under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in 2022. Of its 23 targets for 2030, 22 are behind schedule.
Another plan to speed things up
Countries adopted the Yerevan Pathway, a nonbinding agreement calling for faster implementation of national biodiversity plans, reform of harmful subsidies, more financial assistance for developing countries, and better monitoring. These are not new.
Financing remains unresolved
The Kunming-Montreal framework calls for mobilizing at least $200 billion annually for biodiversity by 2030. COP17 produced about $1.8 billion in financing announcements. Governments agreed on criteria for a future financing mechanism, but left its structure to be decided at COP18.
Indigenous peoples and local communities will have a more formal role in the negotiations
Governments agreed on rules for a new permanent body under the Convention on Biological Diversity, established at COP16 to strengthen the participation of Indigenous peoples and local communities. The rules, known as the Sevan Guidelines, determine how the body will operate.
The Cali Fund has attracted just $10,565 in pledges
Established at COP16 to share the commercial benefits of genetic data derived from nature, the fund aims to raise at least $1 billion annually. CarbonBrief reports less than $9,000 had actually been deposited by the end of COP17.
A new initiative to help countries meet the 30×30 target
COP17 launched the Yerevan Global OECM Action Hub to help countries recognize and manage areas that conserve biodiversity, even if they aren’t national parks or other formal protected areas.
Little progress on policy coordination
Governments agreed to encourage the use of voluntary guidelines to better integrate biodiversity and climate action. Broader efforts to coordinate the international agreements on biodiversity, climate change, and desertification made little progress, argues the Wildlife Conservation Society.
COP18 will take place in Ecuador in 2028
