Common Initiative’s Oscar Soria called it a “unique funding mechanism” but said its voluntary status could be problematic. “The effectiveness of this mechanism will depend on the international community’s willingness to support it and whether businesses see the value in participating to improve their reputations,” he said.
Other highlights include the creation of a subsidiary body to ensure the participation of indigenous peoples and local communities in the biodiversity framework agreed in 2022 in Montreal, and the This included recognition as an administrator.
Agreement was also reached on a document linking biodiversity loss to climate change, which COP16 President Susana Mohammad said was essential ahead of the COP29 climate change conference in Baku, Azerbaijan later this month. . The previous day, countries voted for Armenia to host the next conference, COP17, in 2026.
However, no agreement was reached on the creation of a new fund, and as the morning wore on and participants began leaving to catch flights home, time apparently ran out.
Global North and Global South
The European Union, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland all opposed the idea of setting up a dedicated fund to finance nature restoration in poor countries, saying they would not necessarily have to raise new money to raise funds. He argued that the environment will become more complex.
The EU delegation suggested that the creation of a special fund would not necessarily encourage countries to contribute further funds. “We have been very clear throughout the process that we do not accept the creation of a new fund, which would further fragment the biodiversity-related financial landscape,” delegates said in a plenary session early Saturday morning. said.
