YEREVAN, Armenia / AfricaWire.IO / – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has emphasized the urgent need for international cooperation to stop environmental deterioration and prevent the loss of biodiversity. His appeal was made during the Leaders’ Summit in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, on Friday, October 16. This gathering preceded the 17th United Nations Biodiversity Conference, known as COP17, scheduled from October 19 to 30. Guterres cautioned that more than one million species are now at serious risk of extinction.
He called on governments worldwide to boost investments in solutions aimed at conserving ecosystems. Additionally, he urged increased engagement from the private sector and local communities in conservation initiatives. The Secretary-General highlighted that climate disruption, overgrazing, and the overuse of fertilizers and pesticides are fueling a triple planetary crisis—comprising pollution, loss of biodiversity, and climate change. He warned that this crisis is pushing the planet closer to becoming uninhabitable.
Describing Yerevan as a pivotal moment of accountability halfway to 2030, Guterres noted that nations adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in 2022, setting a target to conserve 30% of the world’s land and sea by the end of this decade. Almost 90% of participating countries have since established national biodiversity targets, and more than half have developed national roadmaps. Nonetheless, Guterres pointed out that progress remains inconsistent and far too slow.
Funding imbalance widens between environmental harm and conservation efforts
The Secretary-General drew attention to a significant disparity in global spending: for every dollar allocated to protecting nature, $30 are spent on activities that harm it. In 2023, a total of $7.3 trillion was invested in sectors detrimental to nature, including heavy industry, destructive agriculture, and fossil fuel extraction. Guterres urged governments to eliminate harmful subsidies and highlighted the UN-supported Cali Fund as a means for corporations benefiting from nature to contribute financially.
Achieving global biodiversity, climate, and land restoration goals will require substantially increased funding. To meet targets by 2030, annual investments in nature-based solutions should reach $571 billion, approximately 0.5% of the global gross domestic product. Currently, biodiversity financing amounts to less than half of the $200 billion yearly commitment under the global framework. Guterres also highlighted that debt burdens and limited budgets hinder developing countries from investing adequately in nature conservation.
Current protection targets are still out of reach
Existing national commitments fall significantly short of the 30% protection goal. Even if countries fulfill their promises, only 26% of terrestrial and 12% of marine ecosystems will be safeguarded by 2030. Since 2022, an additional 1.3 million square kilometers of land and 6 million square kilometers of ocean have received formal protection status. Guterres urged nations to realize the 30 by 30 objective and shift from policies that harm nature to those that promote its sustainability.
He also emphasized the importance of broader participation, calling for involvement from young people, civil society, women, Indigenous Peoples, and local communities. Guterres pointed out that environmental decline often impacts the most vulnerable groups the hardest. He welcomed the Yerevan Declaration’s commitment to integrating biodiversity considerations into national policies, budgets, and regulations. As delegations prepare to move forward to COP17, where collective progress toward the 2030 targets will be assessed, Guterres stressed that there is no time to delay.