UN Nature Summit Ends in Limbo as Countries Spar Over Funding
Colombia suspended COP16 after talks went into overtime. But countries notched progress on sharing corporate proceeds derived from nature and creating a new body for Indigenous peoples.
António Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, speaks during the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP16) in Cali, Colombia, on Oct. 29, as COP16 President Susana Muhamad and David Choquehuanca, vice president of Bolivia, look on.
Photographer: Jair F. Coll/BloombergThe 16th United Nations Biodiversity Conference ended abruptly Saturday as countries disagreed in overtime talks about the creation of a new global nature fund.
After negotiations in Cali, Colombia, stretched through Friday night and into Saturday morning and delegates began to depart to travel home, Susana Muhamad, the host country’s environment minister and the president of COP16, ultimately suspended the summit for lack of a quorum.