UN biodiversity summit opens as global review finds targets off track

The United Nations Biodiversity Conference opened in Yerevan, Armenia, on Oct 19, bringing countries together to assess progress towards global biodiversity goals and discuss measures to accelerate action before the 2030 deadline.

The 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17), running until Oct 30, marks the first global review of collective progress under the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in December 2022.

The framework sets 23 targets for 2030, including conserving at least 30% of the world’s land and seas and restoring 30% of degraded ecosystems.

Ahead of the conference, the United Nations released State of Biodiversity Action, its first global assessment of progress under the framework. The report found that nearly 90% of countries had established national biodiversity targets, but fewer than half of the national targets assessed were on track.

The assessment draws on national reports, updated biodiversity strategies and targets, alongside other sources of information.

According to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the global review at COP17 draws on national reports from 129 countries, national biodiversity strategies and action plans from 89 countries, and national targets from 162 countries.

The findings point to a gap between countries’ commitments and implementation. Governments are expected to use the review to identify areas where progress is lagging and consider how to accelerate action over the remaining four years to 2030.

The conference will also see negotiations on the proposed Yerevan Pathway, intended to accelerate implementation of the biodiversity framework. Discussions include the resources required to meet the targets, international cooperation and the challenges countries face in putting their commitments into practice.

The review is a key milestone in assessing whether collective efforts are sufficient to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. However, the conference’s final decisions and any agreed measures to speed up implementation remain subject to negotiations.