The COP16 in Rome continues four months after the abrupt closure of the negotiations in Cali, Colombia, the original venue.
At this time, “wealthy” and developing countries are negotiating against the clock on Thursday in search of financial mechanisms to safeguard biodiversity. This is the essential purpose of the conference.
Time is of the essence, and there are only a few years left for the world to achieve its goal of halting deforestation, overexploitation of natural resources, and pollution from now until 2030.
These are the main threats to humanity’s food supply and the survival of millions of endangered species.
COP16 in Rome: objectives
Susana Muhamad, Colombian Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development and president of the summit.
This objective arose from the historic Kunming-Montreal agreement signed at the end of 2022. It is part of a program with 23 objectives to be met from now until the end of the decade.
The most emblematic aims to have 30% of the land and sea as protected areas by 2030, compared to the current 17% and 8% according to the UN.
According to the initial schedule, the 196 signatory countries were supposed to agree on how to finance this roadmap at COP16 in Cali. This roadmap envisions increasing spending dedicated to biodiversity protection to $200 billion annually by 2030.
This includes $30 billion in aid from the most developed countries to the poor countries.
Controversy among countries
The main point of controversy lies in the way this money should be raised and distributed, and in the institutional architecture of the mechanism. This is the issue that led to a three-day extension of negotiations in Rome, with Thursday being the last scheduled day.
After two days of negotiations at the Roman headquarters of the FAO (the UN organization for food and agriculture), negotiators received on Wednesday a newly prepared text by the Colombian presidency.
Developing countries are demanding the creation of a specific fund for nature protection, under the authority of the COP, as provided for in the 1992 biodiversity convention.
On the other hand, the most industrialized countries, led by the EU, Japan, and Canada – in the absence of the United States, which did not sign the convention but is a significant contributor – are hostile.
They fear that the eventual creation of a new fund could “fragment” development aid, already diminished by budgetary difficulties and the aggressive withdrawal of the Donald Trump administration on climate issues.
What the proposed text says
COP16, central for biodiversity protection.
The commitment of the Colombian presidency, represented by Minister Susana Muhamad, aims to “improve the performance” of existing instruments.
It begins with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Global Environment Facility for Biodiversity (GBFF). A provisional solution adopted in 2022 with an allocation of $400 million.
It even foresees that after the COP18 on biodiversity in 2028, a decision will be made on whether a new fund should be launched, or if these existing instruments can be transformed to meet the expectations of developing countries.
The debates are expected to conclude in principle during the evening, although an extension into Friday is not ruled out.
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