UN Biodiversity Conference Reaches Landmark Financing Agreement

Nearly 200 countries commit to a multi-year plan to protect biodiversity, including funding pledges and monitoring mechanisms.

The COP16 conference in Rome resulted in a last-minute agreement among nearly 200 nations on a financing plan for biodiversity protection.
The plan includes annual contributions of $20 billion by industrialized nations, increasing to $30 billion by 2030, to support conservation efforts in developing countries.
A key goal of the agreement is to protect at least 30% of global land and marine areas by 2030, building on commitments made in the 2022 Montreal biodiversity pact.
The agreement also establishes a monitoring mechanism to ensure implementation and includes a voluntary fund for companies benefiting from genetic resources to support indigenous and source countries.
The United States was notably absent from the negotiations, as it is not a signatory to the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity.