Rich nations fall far behind on nature finance pledges ahead of COP17, UN review finds

Developed countries are falling far short of their commitments to pay for nature protection in poorer nations, according to a global stocktake by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) released ahead of the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17), which opens Oct. 19 in Yerevan, Armenia.

The shortfall is expected to be a key point of contention at the talks, where countries will review progress on the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), the 2022 deal to reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.

The framework calls for at least $200 billion a year from all sources by 2030, including at least $20 billion a year in international public funding from developed to developing countries by 2025. The CBD report found countries mobilized a cumulative $186.4 billion from 2020 to 2023, an average of less than $50 billion a year, and only $17.7 billion in international public funding over those four years, about $4.4 billion a year. It said the 2025 milestone was "likely not achieved."

The Global Biodiversity Framework Fund, created in 2022, had received $387.2 million in signed commitments from 11 countries and the Canadian province of Quebec as of June 30, according to data the Global Environment Facility shared with Carbon Brief. The Cali Fund, launched at COP16 in Colombia for companies that profit from genetic data, has received two contributions totaling $6,000.

"Developed countries have regrettably not met their legal obligations," Lim Li Ching of the Third World Network told Carbon Brief.

This brief is based on an article published Oct. 15, 2026, by Aruna Chandrasekhar in Carbon Brief. Read the original: https://www.carbonbrief.org/cop17-developed-countries-fall-far-short-of-un-targets-for-nature-finance