Global biodiversity negotiations at COP17 in Yerevan, Armenia, concluded with agreements described as progress but criticised by environmental organisations as too limited. Delegates closed the meeting around 10:30 a.m. after an overnight session marked by disagreements and concerns that the conference could lose its quorum, echoing problems at the previous summit in Cali, Colombia.
Armenia’s environment minister and COP17 president, Hambardzum Matevosyan, helped move the final discussions forward by asking delegates to signal their positions with thumbs up or down. The negotiations nevertheless exposed divisions over the participation and decision-making role of Indigenous peoples, as well as the use of gender-related language. Indonesia opposed rules concerning Indigenous representation, while Argentina unsuccessfully sought to remove references to gender.
The final agreements also used language considered weak regarding the recognition of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, known as IPBES. Switzerland, speaking on behalf of 55 countries including European Union members and Colombia, criticised the politicisation of scientific issues and stated that science should form the basis of policymaking.
COP17 had two central objectives: establishing a path to meet 23 biodiversity targets by 2030 and determining how those goals would be financed. The agreements recognised the need to accelerate implementation and close the financial gap, but did not specify how this would happen, where the money would come from or which countries would provide it.
The talks also acknowledged the need to reduce or redirect subsidies harmful to biodiversity. However, the final wording only encouraged countries to act and did not set out a clear route. One of the targets under review is the mobilisation of at least 200 billion dollars a year for biodiversity by 2030, alongside a reduction of harmful subsidies of at least 500 billion dollars over the same period. UN Secretary-General António Guterres had warned that fewer than half of the 23 targets were currently on track.
Several important decisions were postponed until COP18 in Ecuador. These include an assessment of the global biodiversity fund created in 2023, which has been criticised for the limited resources it has disbursed and for being managed by the Global Environment Facility. The conference also deferred decisions on how to collect and distribute economic benefits generated by companies using public digital genetic information.
CBD executive secretary Astrid Schomaker said the Armenia meeting created momentum for dialogue on environmentally harmful subsidies and could eventually lead to more binding agreements. Critics, however, described COP17 as an exercise in diplomatic delay, with the most consequential questions left for the next conference.
Sources: El País Sociedad.