Global Deal on Nature Finance Thwarted in Overtime Talks at COP16
Negotiations fell apart at the 11th hour when the EU, Switzerland and other developed countries objected to the creation of a new biodiversity fund.
Attendees arrive for the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP16) in Cali, Colombia, on Oct. 29, 2024. At this year's biodiversity talks, known as COP16, negotiators worked through a host of thorny issues, particularly how to finance ecosystem protection.
Photographer: Jair F. Coll/BloombergThe 16th United Nations Biodiversity Conference, held in Cali, Colombia, was suspended on Saturday as countries failed to agree on the creation of a new global fund for nature, after tense talks that stretched through Friday night. Establishing the fund was a key demand of developing countries, but the EU, Switzerland and other developed nations raised last-minute objections.
An EU negotiator said the bloc could not accept a new official development assistance fund “further fragmenting the biodiversity finance landscape. A new fund does not mean new funding.”