2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference

File:COP16 Announcement.jpg, Gustavo Petro, announces the city of Cali as the host for the United Nations Biodiversity COP16.]]

The UNCBD COP16 was originally set to be held in Turkey;{{Cite web |date=22 May 2023 |title=Biodiversity Day: Protecting humanity's 'life-support system' |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/05/1136907 |access-date=5 June 2023 |website=news.un.org |publisher=United Nations}} however, on 31 July 2023, the conference's organizing committee notified Parties that the country had decided to give up its right to host and preside the event, due to "a force majeure situation" caused by the impact of the nationwide earthquakes that struck in February of the same year.{{cite web |last1=Cooper |first1=David |date=31 July 2023 |title=Notification to Parties on 31 July 2023 |url=https://www.cbd.int/doc/notifications/2023/ntf-2023-082-cop16-en.pdf |access-date=4 August 2023 |website=Convention on Biological Diversity |publisher=UNCBD |ref=SCBD/OES/DC/GT/91194}}

On 11 December 2023, the Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia, Susana Muhamad, announced that the country had officially offered to host the COP16, which was scheduled to be held from 21 October to 1 November 2024.{{cite web |date=11 December 2023 |title=Colombia se postula para ser sede de la Cumbre de Biodiversidad más importante del mundo |url=https://www.minambiente.gov.co/colombia-se-postula-para-ser-sede-de-la-cumbre-de-biodiversidad-mas-importante-del-mundo/ |access-date=12 December 2023 |website= |publisher=Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible |language=es-CO}}{{Cite web |date=11 December 2023 |title=Colombia will host the next United Nations Biodiversity Conference |url=https://www.cbd.int/article/colombia-host-cop16 |access-date=21 October 2024 |website=Convention on Biological Diversity |language=en}} On 20 February 2024, the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, announced that Cali had been chosen to host the event, after a month-long competition with Bogotá.{{Cite web |date=20 February 2024 |title=Colombia escoge a la ciudad de Cali como sede de la COP16, conferencia de la biodiversidad de la ONU |url=https://apnews.com/world-news/general-news-7842f62f5dec499a9125c90b5d0b5293 |access-date=20 February 2024 |website=AP News |language=es |agency=Associated Press}}{{Cite web |date=20 February 2024 |title="Es la reunión del mundo en Colombia": presidente Gustavo Petro sobre el anuncio de la sede de la COP16 para Cali |url=https://www.elpais.com.co/cali/es-la-reunion-del-mundo-en-colombia-presidente-gustavo-petro-sobre-el-anuncio-de-la-sede-de-la-cop16-para-cali-2027.html |access-date=23 October 2024 |website=El País |language=es-CO}} Petro said that Valle del Cauca was "the most biodiverse region in Colombia", both due its natural ecosystems and its ethnic diversity, while noting that the government had also chosen Cali in the hopes of "healing the open wounds" of the nationwide protests the city had been at the center of in 2021.

File:IMG-20241022-WA0011~2.jpg in Cali ]]

The COP16's official logo was presented by the Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia, Susana Muhamad, and the interim executive secretary of the UNCBD, David Cooper, on 28 February 2024, during the Sixth UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya. Designed by Vanessa María Vergara Domínguez, the logo depicted an Inírida flower, an endemic plant in Colombia, decorated with 36 petals, 23 of which represented the targets set by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in 2022, whereas the remaining 13 symbolized the country's strategic ecoregions.{{Cite web |date=28 February 2024 |title=Colombia presenta al mundo la imagen de la COP16 'Paz con la Naturaleza' |url=https://www.minambiente.gov.co/colombia-presenta-al-mundo-la-imagen-de-la-cop16-paz-con-la-naturaleza/ |access-date=23 October 2024 |website=minambiente.gov.co |publisher=Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible |language=es-CO}}{{Cite web |last=Caicedo |first=Edwin |date=28 February 2024 |title=COP16: esta es la imagen oficial del evento, inspirada en una flor, y su significado |url=https://www.eltiempo.com/vida/medio-ambiente/cop16-esta-es-la-imagen-oficial-del-evento-inspirada-en-la-flor-de-inirida-859391 |access-date=23 October 2024 |website=El Tiempo |language=es-CO}}

The official motto of the COP16 was Paz con la Naturaleza ("Peace with Nature");{{Cite web |last=Castro |first=Maria José |date=20 October 2024 |title=Reviva el acto de inauguración COP16 'Paz con la Naturaleza' en Cali |url=https://caracol.com.co/2024/10/20/cop16-en-vivo-discurso-de-inauguracion-paz-con-la-naturaleza-en-cali/ |access-date=26 October 2024 |website=Caracol Radio |language=es-CO |agency=EFE}} Muhamad said that one of the reasons behind the choice was the hope to turn the conference into an opportunity to further reduce the impact of the nationwide conflict with guerrilla factions, which was still ongoing despite the agreement reached as part of the peace process between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia in 2016.

File:Susana Muhamad in 2024.jpg, Susana Muhamad, served as the President of the COP16 throughout the entirety of its negotiations.]]

The UNCBD COP16 mainly aimed to review progress of the countries towards the goals set by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF),{{Cite web |date=9 October 2024 |title=Interactive: Who wants what at the COP16 biodiversity summit |url=https://www.carbonbrief.org/interactive-who-wants-what-at-the-cop16-biodiversity-summit/ |access-date=27 October 2024 |website=Carbon Brief}} which had been approved in December 2022, having set 23 general targets to "halt and reverse biodiversity loss" by 2030.

In the lead-up to the summit, national governments were expected to present their respective long-term strategies to meet the targets, known as National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs); however, a joint investigation by The Guardian and Carbon Brief revealed that only 25 of the 195 countries that had adhered to the Kunming-Montreal Framework had submit their NBSAPs before the start of the COP16.{{Cite news |last1=Greenfield |first1=Patrick |last2=Dunne |first2=Daisy |date=15 October 2024 |title=About 80% of countries fail to submit plans to preserve nature ahead of global summit |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/15/about-80-percent-countries-fail-submit-plans-preserve-nature-ahead-cop16-aoe |access-date=24 October 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite web |last=Dunne |first=Daisy |date=15 October 2024 |title=COP16: More than 85% of countries miss UN deadline to submit nature pledges |url=https://www.carbonbrief.org/cop16-countries-miss-un-deadline-to-submit-nature-pledges/ |access-date=24 October 2024 |website=Carbon Brief}} According to the inquiry, only five of the 17 megadiverse countries (Australia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Mexico), as well as four G7 nations (Canada, France, Italy and Japan), submitted their respective NBSAPs by the deadline. Representatives for Colombia announced that the country would present its own plan during the meeting, while spokespersons for the United Kingdom, Brazil and India stated that the nations would not publish their respective NBSAPs earlier than 2025.

The COP16 was also considered as an occasion to review other goals set at the previous conference in Montreal, including an agreement to provide developing countries with at least US$20 billion to finance the implementation of conservation targets by 2025, and at least $30 billion a year by 2030.{{Cite magazine |last=Piccolo |first=Riccardo |date=22 October 2024 |title=Cos'è la Cop16 in Colombia e cosa deve ottenere? |url=https://www.wired.it/article/cop16-colombia-biodiversita/ |access-date=26 October 2024 |magazine=Wired Italia |language=it-IT}} Another target included in the Global Biodiversity Framework urged countries to identify funding to nature-damaging sources and cut them by $500 billion a year by the end of the decade.{{Cite web |last=Flor |first=Aline |date=21 October 2024 |title=O que esperar da COP16 da Biodiversidade? Países chegam com muita conversa e pouca acção |url=https://www.publico.pt/2024/10/21/azul/noticia/cop16-biodiversidade-arranca-colombia-conversa-accao-2108579 |access-date=27 October 2024 |website=Público |language=pt}}{{Cite news |last=Mouterde |first=Perrine |date=31 October 2024 |title=Biodiversité : les Etats peinent à s'attaquer au sujet crucial des subventions néfastes |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2024/10/31/biodiversite-les-etats-peinent-a-s-attaquer-au-sujet-crucial-des-subventions-nefastes_6368812_3244.html |access-date=31 October 2024 |work=Le Monde |language=fr}} Upon the start of the meeting, only seven developed countries had contributed to the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF), donating a total of $244 million.

Moreover, participating countries were expected to negotiate the first global agreement on digital sequence information and biopiracy, a phenomenon that had been disproportionately affecting countries in the Global South, and ensure the full involvement of Indigenous peoples around the world, which had been mentioned eighteen times on the GBF, in the implementation of the targets set by the Framework itself. Finally, a draft of a global action plan on biodiversity and health was reportedly set to be negotiated at the conference.

Upon being asked about the likelihood that the United States would ratify the convention,{{Cite web |last=Dwyer |first=Orla |date=10 October 2024 |title=The Carbon Brief Interview: UN biodiversity chief Astrid Schomaker |url=https://www.carbonbrief.org/the-carbon-brief-interview-un-biodiversity-chief-astrid-schomaker/ |access-date=31 October 2024 |website=Carbon Brief}} having previously refused to do so,{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Benji |date=20 May 2021 |title=Why the US won't join the single most important treaty to protect nature |url=https://www.vox.com/22434172/us-cbd-treaty-biological-diversity-nature-conservation |access-date=31 October 2024 |website=Vox |language=en-US}} the executive secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Astrid Schomaker, said that while the US were "always participating at the COPs with reasonably big delegations", ratification had not been an "actively discussed" subject in the country, regardless of the outcome of the 2024 presidential election, due to a lack of support from a solid majority of Congress.

Schomaker also said that the COP16 would be "the biggest COP ever", thanks to the involvement of a higher number of stakeholders and national delegates, as well as an increase in international media coverage; she also noted how the meeting would be an opportunity for institutions to acknowledge that "we cannot solve the climate crisis without looking at the nature crisis".

According to a yearly Global Witness report about victims of violence and repression against environmental activism, released in September 2024, 196 environmentalists and activists around the world had been murdered throughout 2023.{{Cite web |date=10 September 2024 |title=Missing voices – The violent erasure of land and environmental defenders |url=https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/missing-voices/ |access-date=26 October 2024 |website=Global Witness}}{{Cite web |last=Andreoni |first=Manuela |date=9 September 2024 |title=Colombia Is the Deadliest Country for Environmental Activists, Report Finds |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/09/climate/colombia-environmental-activist-killings.html |access-date=26 October 2024 |website=The New York Times}} Colombia topped the list for the second year in a row, with 79 killings (19 more than the year prior), followed by Brazil, with 25 killings,{{Cite web |last=Cotugno |first=Ferdinando |date=15 September 2024 |title=Gli ecoattivisti stretti tra omicidi e repressione |url=https://www.editorialedomani.it/ambiente/gli-ecoattivisti-stretti-tra-omicidi-e-repressione-uxdyugpc |access-date=26 October 2024 |website=Domani |language=it-it}} and by Mexico and Honduras, with 18 killings per each. Global Witness said that organized crime groups had been linked to around half of all environmental defender murders in Colombia in 2023, while noting that half of the activists killed in Colombia were Indigenous, with many others being either members of Afro-descendant communities or small-scale farmers.

The report also raised concerns about growing repression and censorship of protests led by environmentalist associations in several countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands.

Following the termination of a ceasefire between the Colombian government and some factions of the guerrilla movement Estado Mayor Central (EMC) in March and July 2024, due to ongoing violence in several departments,{{Cite web |last1=Griffin |first1=Oliver |last2=Acosta |first2=Luis Jaime |last3=Siniawski |first3=Natalia |last4=Symmes Cobb |first4=Julia |last5=Heavens |first5=Louise |date=16 July 2024 |title=Colombia calls off ceasefire with some units of EMC armed group |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/colombian-government-calls-off-ceasefire-with-units-emc-armed-group-2024-07-16/ |access-date=26 October 2024 |website=Reuters}} on 16 July representatives of the EMC threatened that the COP16 would "fail even if [Cali] was militarized with (US) gringos" in an X post directed to President Gustavo Petro.{{Cite web |date=16 July 2024 |title=Disidencia de las FARC amenaza la cumbre COP16 en Colombia |url=https://www.dw.com/es/la-cop16-fracasar%C3%A1-disidencia-de-las-farc-amenaza-la-cumbre-de-biodiversidad-en-colombia/a-69684453 |access-date=26 October 2024 |website=Deutsche Welle |language=es |agency=Agence France-Presse, El Espectador}} In the wake of further threats by the EMC and failed terrorist attacks in Cali and Jamundí,{{Cite web |last=Osorio |first=Camila |date=18 October 2024 |title=Las amenazas de las disidencias y el despliegue militar del Estado: las demostraciones de fuerza que anteceden a la COP16 |url=https://elpais.com/america-colombia/2024-10-18/las-amenazas-de-las-disidencias-y-el-despliegue-militar-del-estado-las-demostraciones-de-fuerza-que-anteceden-a-la-cop16.html |access-date=26 October 2024 |website=El País América Colombia |language=es-CO}} it was reported that thousands of members of the Army and the National Police were expected to be deployed in Cali to ensure the safety of delegates and citizens.{{Cite news |last=Greenfield |first=Patrick |date=31 July 2024 |title=Colombian guerrillas withdraw threat to disrupt UN biodiversity summit |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jul/31/colombia-guerrillas-cop16-un-biodiversity-summit-cali-aoe |access-date=26 October 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} On 30 July, the leader of the EMC, Néstor Gregorio (also known by the nom de guerre Iván Mordisco), announced that the units of the group would not affect any events related to the COP16 "as a gesture of [their] will for peace".{{Cite web |last=Caicedo |first=Maria Victoria |date=30 July 2024 |title=Iván Mordisco dice que no afectará la COP16 y anuncia creación de nuevo Estado Mayor Central |url=https://www.elcolombiano.com/colombia/reaparecio-ivan-mordisco-anunciado-tregua-en-la-cop16-GE25124121 |access-date=26 October 2024 |website=El Colombiano |language=es-CO}}

The executive secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Astrid Schomaker, said that her staff had "worked very closely" with national, regional and local authorities to arrange effective security arrangements for the COP16.

File:CEVP foto 1.jpg, where the negotiations for the 2024 United Nations Biodiversity COP16 were held.]]

File:COP16 Cali, Colombia.jpg" monument, created by artist Benjamin Von Wong, inside the Valle del Pacifico Convention center in Cali, during the COP16 Biodiversity Conference.]]

The Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia, Susana Muhamad, served as the president of the COP16 throughout the entirety of its negotiations,{{Cite news |last=Delcas |first=Marie |date=22 October 2024 |title=COP16 in Cali: Susana Muhamad, a rising star of Colombia's environmental movement |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/environment/article/2024/10/22/cop16-in-cali-colombian-susana-muhamad-a-rising-star-of-the-environmental-movement_6730064_114.html |access-date=27 October 2024 |work=Le Monde}} which were held in the Zona Azul ("Blue Zone") at the Valle del Pacifico convention center in Cali; participants from civil society were admitted to the Zona Verde ("Green Zone") at the {{Ill|Bulevar del Río|es|Bulevar de la Avenida Colombia}}, which would host several concerts, as well as a series of political and academic conferences about conservation and restoration of oceans, environmental justice and sustainable cities, among other themes.{{Cite web |last=Restrepo |first=María Paula |date=19 October 2024 |title=Programación por días de la COP16: Conozca los eventos por fecha y cómo registrarse |url=https://caracol.com.co/2024/10/19/programacion-por-dias-de-la-cop16-conozca-los-eventos-por-fecha-y-como-registrarse/ |access-date=31 October 2024 |website=Caracol Radio |language=es-CO}}

File:20241020 Cali Ceremonia Apertura COP16-Juan Cano03757.jpg (third from left) and members of the Colombian delegation pose for a photo at the opening ceremony of the COP16.]]

On 21 October 2024, the inaugural day of the meeting, Muhamad presented Colombia's own NBSAP, called Plan de Acción por la Biodiversidad 2030 ("Plan of Action for Biodiversity 2030").{{Cite news |last=Londoño Laura |first=Nátaly |date=21 October 2024 |title=COP16: Colombia presentó su Plan de Acción por la Biodiversidad 2030 |url=https://www.elcolombiano.com/tendencias/cop16-plan-de-accion-para-la-biodiversidad-2030-HE25657257 |access-date=27 October 2024 |work=El Colombiano |language=es-CO}}{{Cite web |date=21 October 2024 |title=COP16: Colombia presenta oficialmente su plan de acción para proteger la biodiversidad al 2030 |url=https://www.minambiente.gov.co/colombia-abre-la-cop16-con-la-presentacion-oficial-de-su-plan-de-accion-para-proteger-la-biodiversidad-al-2030/ |access-date=27 October 2024 |website=minambiente.gov.co |publisher=Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible |language=es-CO}} The document — which was estimated to require a total investment of 76.5 billion pesos, roughly corresponding to over US$17.8 billion — set six national goals and 191 targets needed to fulfill the 2022 Global Biodiversity Framework by the end of the decade. The opening ceremony included public speeches by Muhamad and Petro, as well as the major counselor of the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC), Orlando Rayo, and a video-message from the secretary-general of the United Nations, António Guterres, who urged participating diplomats to "go from words to facts" in order to fulfill the targets set by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

While the COP16 was taking place, a group of researchers from the Natural History Museum in London presented an independent analysis on the effectiveness of conservation practices worldwide, which showed that, on average, biodiversity intactness had declined globally between 2000 and 2020, diminishing more quickly in places that are considered to be protected areas than in critical biodiversity areas that were not protected;{{Cite news |last=Weston |first=Phoebe |date=24 October 2024 |title=Biodiversity declining even faster in 'protected' areas, scientists warn Cop16 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/24/biodiversity-declining-even-faster-in-protected-areas-scientists-warn-cop16-30x30-conservation-target |access-date=31 October 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite web |title=Towards 30 by 30: balancing nature and people |url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/services/data/biodiversity-intactness-index/policy/30by30.html |access-date=31 October 2024 |website=www.nhm.ac.uk |publisher=Natural History Museum, London}} the study also estimated that 17.5% of land and 8.4% of marine areas were protected for nature – an increase of about half a percentage point each since the COP15 in 2022 – with the total amount being expected to reach at least 30% by 2030, as part of one of the targets set by the GBF.

During the first week of the convention, representatives of Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities, as well as civil society associations, were involved in dedicated international forums. El Colombiano reported that five "key documents" related to the targets set by the Cartagena and Nagoya Protocols were adopted in the ending session of the week, while new preliminary agreements to reform wildlife conservation and sustainable practices within the agricultural, food and financial sectors were also reached.{{Cite web |last=Laura |first=Nátaly Londoño |date=26 October 2024 |title=Balance de la primera semana de la COP16: avances, acuerdos y desafíos |url=https://www.elcolombiano.com/medio-ambiente/balance-primera-semana-cop16-avances-acuerdos-desafios-GJ25689942 |access-date=31 October 2024 |website=El Colombiano |language=es-CO}}

Negotiations about a plan to provide developing countries with more resources for the implementation of conservation targets by 2030 reportedly kept stalling during the second week of the meeting, as a request by developing countries, including Brazil, to create a new fund for biodiversity, faced opposition by donating countries and the European Union.{{Cite web |last= |date=31 October 2024 |title=É improvável acordo sobre financiamento da conservação da biodiversidade na COP16 |url=https://www.publico.pt/2024/10/31/azul/noticia/improvavel-acordo-financiamento-conservacao-biodiversidade-cop16-2110092?ref=hp&cx=bloco_1_destaque_3 |access-date=31 October 2024 |website=Público |language=pt |agency=Reuters}} A spokesperson for the CBD committee, David Ainsworth, said that it was "obvious" that a complete agreement on the subject would not be reached by the end of COP16, with delegates being set to continue negotiations in the following period of time, as part of a new organization or an existent UN body. Some analysts and participants also noted how the funding for developing countries required by the GBF was "a drop in the sea" in comparison to incentives paid by governments to providers of nature-damaging sources.

The conference closed on 2 November 2024, with no agreement on a roadmap to ramp up funding for species protection. It was suspended as negotiations ran almost twelve hours longer than planned and delegates started leaving to catch flights. The exodus left the summit without a quorum for decision-making.{{Cite news |date=2 November 2024 |title=COP16 biodiversity ends without agreement on funding roadmap to rescue nature |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/11/02/cop16-biodiversity-ends-without-agreement-on-funding-roadmap-to-rescue-nature_6731352_4.html |access-date=11 November 2024 |work=Le Monde |language=en}}{{Cite web |last= |date=4 November 2024 |title=Biodiversity COP 16: Important Agreement Reached Towards Goal of "Making Peace with Nature" |url=https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2024/11/biodiversity-cop-16-important-agreement-reached-towards-goal-of-making-peace-with-nature-2/ |access-date=11 November 2024 |website=United Nations Sustainable Development |language=en-US}}

Delegates did agree earlier to form a subsidiary body for recognizing Indigenous peoples' role, including traditional environmental knowledge, in future decisions on conservation. The body is led by two co-chairs, one of which is nominated by UN parties of the regional group and the other nominated by indigenous peoples and local communities. The role of people of African descent in the protection of nature was also recognized.{{Cite web |last=Grattan |first=Steven |date=2 November 2024 |title=At U.N. summit, historic agreement to give Indigenous groups voice on nature conservation decisions |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/world/at-u-n-summit-historic-agreement-to-give-indigenous-groups-voice-on-nature-conservation-decisions/article_72f3fe7b-d40f-5d4b-bf23-b166e84cfd9a.html |access-date=4 November 2024 |website=The Toronto Star |agency=Associated Press}}

An agreement was also reached earlier on charging large biotechnology companies who derive genetic information from living organisms with a 0.1% fee. The fee is to recognize that many life-saving medicines and genetic resources are derived from organisms living in biodiversity hotspots, such as the tropical rainforest. The collected fee was set to go into a newly established fund to protect nature, with 50% allocated towards Indigenous communities.

An extended session of the COP16 was held in Rome, Italy, at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization, from 25 to 27 February 2025. The president of the conference, Susana Muhamad, took part in the meetings, despite having resigned from her role as Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia on 9 February, in protests to cabinet appointments by President Gustavo Petro.{{cite news |date=10 February 2025 |title=Colombian President Petro reshuffles cabinet after environment minister resigns |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/colombias-environment-minister-resigns-stays-cop16-head-2025-02-09/ |access-date=10 February 2025 |work=Reuters}} Several countries did not send representatives to the session, including the United States,{{Cite web |last=Stallard |first=Esme |date=28 February 2025 |title=Nations salvage funding deal to reverse wildlife decline |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg5ddnmnypvo |access-date=1 March 2025 |publisher=BBC |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |last=Guillot |first=Louise |date=28 February 2025 |title=Green diplomacy survives as UN strikes deal on biodiversity finance |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/trump-rome-cop16-green-diplomacy-survives-as-un-strikes-deal-on-biodiversity-finance/ |access-date=1 March 2025 |website=Politico |language=en-GB}} which had not signed up to the Convention on Biological Diversity and had just entered the second Trump administration, which was raising concerns over its plans to retreat from international environmental diplomacy and foreign aid.

Participating countries officially agreed to create the Cali Fund, which aimed to provide Indigenous peoples and countries with the highest concentration of biodiversity with financial compensation from biotech companies that had used digital sequence information (DSI) of native species for commercial purposes without permission.{{Cite web |last=Cotugno |first=Ferdinando |date=28 February 2025 |title=Biopirateria e uso dell'intelligenza artificiale: la Cop16 indica le sfide del futuro della biodiversità |url=https://www.editorialedomani.it/ambiente/cop-16-roma-biodiversita-risultati-biopirateria-intelligenza-artificiale-sfide-futuro-wyj2lune |url-access=subscription |access-date=28 February 2025 |website=Domani |language=it-it}} As part of the agreement, companies that met two of three criteria – sales of more than $50m (£39m), profits of more than $5m, and $20m in total assets – were expected to contribute 0.1% of profits generated from usage of DSI, or 1% of their revenue, towards the fund on a voluntary basis; half of all resources collected by the fund would be donated to Indigenous communities who were taking care of the most biodiverse ecosystems. The announcement of the Cali Fund received mixed reactions from environmentalist organizations: the WWF considered it a "good measure of environmental justice", whereas agroecologist association Centro Internazionale Crocevia criticized the agreement, expressing concerns over the voluntary nature of the fund and the risk of lacking resources for Indigenous communities.

On 28 February, it was announced that the participating countries had reached an agreement on a roadmap to provide developing countries with US$200 billion a year – roughly €192.5 billion{{Cite web |last=Osborne |first=Louise |date=28 February 2025 |title=World agrees on how to fund nature protection |url=https://www.dw.com/en/world-agrees-on-how-to-fund-nature-protection/a-71773827 |access-date=1 March 2025 |website=dw.com |publisher=Deutsche Welle}} – to finance the implementation of conservation targets by 2030, in compliance to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.{{Cite web |date=28 February 2025 |title=Ambiente. Alla Cop16 accordo in extremis per tutelare la biodiversità |url=https://www.avvenire.it/mondo/pagine/biodiversita-ambiente-cop16-accordo-per-200-miliardi-di-dollari |access-date=28 February 2025 |website=Avvenire |language=it}} The plan included commitment to raise US$20 billion in annual conservation financing by 2025, with the assets being set to rise to US$30 billion annually by 2030; according to the latest data collected at the time by the OECD, countries had managed to raise just US$15 billion towards the same goals.{{Cite web |date=28 February 2025 |title=Nations agree to hard-fought nature funding plan at UN talks in Rome |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3300468/nations-agree-hard-fought-nature-funding-plan-un-talks-rome |access-date=1 March 2025 |website=South China Morning Post |agency=Agence France-Presse}} Ministers of finance and environment from all of the countries were also expected to hold an "international dialogue" to ensure the targets would be reached. The consequent progress would be reviewed at the COP17 in 2026, hosted by Armenia. The members of the BRICS group, and most specifically Brazil, reportedly played a central role in influencing the positive outcome of the negotiations; the Brazilian delegation, led by Maria Angélica Ikeda,{{Cite web |last=Barata |first=Clara |date=26 February 2025 |title="Precisamos de um compromisso ético dos países desenvolvidos com a natureza" |url=https://www.publico.pt/2025/02/26/azul/entrevista/precisamos-compromisso-etico-paises-desenvolvidos-natureza-2124027 |access-date=1 March 2025 |website=Público |language=pt-PT}} was credited with putting forward a proposal that would become the basis of the final compromise.

On the other hand, negotiations on a new fund for nature finance were suspended and postponed to 2028, due to disagreements between the delegations involved on the status of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Developing countries, including Brazil and the African Group, considered the GEF as too burdensome to access and over-representing wealthier nations, and demanded the creation of a newly established fund. hosted by COP committees. Developed countries, including the European Union, Japan and Canada, opposed the idea, arguing that multiple conservation funds could fragment international aid, while focusing on plausible efforts to broaden potential financial sources towards conservation, including private investments or the reform of environmentally harmful subsidies.

• Biodiversity loss
• Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework

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• {{Official website|https://www.cop16colombia.com/es/}}
• [https://www.carbonbrief.org/cop16-key-outcomes-agreed-at-the-un-biodiversity-conference-in-cali-colombia/ COP16: Key outcomes agreed at the UN biodiversity conference in Cali, Colombia] by CarbonBrief

Category:Biodiversity

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