Shibbir Ahmed, New York – Nearly 200 countries are gathering in Armenia on Monday for crucial discussions on how to accelerate progress toward global nature protection targets, as governments face mounting pressure to deliver on a historic commitment to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. The United Nations conference, known as COP17, comes amid growing concerns that countries are falling behind on the goals agreed upon four years ago to protect and restore nature by the end of the decade.
Often described as the “Paris Agreement for nature,” the global biodiversity deal includes a landmark commitment to conserve 30 percent of the world’s land and oceans by 2030. However, progress toward many of its targets remains slow, with limited advances on some of the most challenging commitments, including reducing subsidies for fossil fuels and other environmentally harmful industries.
Speaking ahead of the formal negotiations, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Friday that countries needed to acknowledge the gap between their commitments and actual progress.
“We must honestly acknowledge that, collectively, we have not moved forward at the necessary pace,” he said.
The summit is taking place at a time when public funding is under pressure and political attention is increasingly focused on conflicts, geopolitical tensions and the global energy crisis. Only a small number of world leaders, including United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, attended a high-level session before the formal negotiations began. Most of the participating leaders were heads of state from neighboring Central Asian countries.
Despite the limited high-level attendance, Guterres stressed the importance of the conference, warning that humanity’s continuing “war” against nature threatens the planet’s habitability for future generations.
“We need more action, more speed and more goodwill,” he said. With the world halfway through the period leading to the 2030 targets, Guterres described the gathering in Yerevan as a critical moment for accountability.
“We must ask ourselves: Are we doing enough?” he said.
A United Nations assessment released ahead of COP17 found that progress was being made toward the 23 global biodiversity targets. However, the report warned that progress remained uneven and insufficient to achieve the goals by the 2030 deadline.
Financing is expected to emerge as one of the most contentious issues during the negotiations. The assessment highlighted a substantial funding gap for biodiversity conservation, with efforts to mobilize the necessary resources lagging far behind requirements.
Developed countries, including European nations and other wealthy economies, have financial responsibilities under international biodiversity commitments. However, they have also called on major emerging economies, including China, to contribute more toward conservation financing.
Discussions may increasingly focus on how private-sector investment can help bridge the funding gap as governments struggle to provide sufficient public resources. One of the summit’s priorities is expected to be encouraging corporations to contribute a portion of their profits to a United Nations fund intended to support nature conservation in developing countries, which currently has very limited resources.
Reforming government subsidies for extractive industries is another major issue expected to feature prominently at the summit. Guterres criticized governments for continuing to direct public money toward environmentally damaging activities despite their commitments to reform harmful subsidies. Referring to fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas, he said: “Subsidizing fossil fuels is subsidizing suicide.”
He warned that fossil fuels are heating the planet and posing a serious threat to biodiversity. Environmental advocates argue that redirecting public funds away from harmful industries and toward conservation could help countries make faster progress toward their international commitments.
For Armenia, the mountainous country in the Caucasus region, COP17 represents one of the largest international events it has hosted. Thousands of delegates and visitors are expected to arrive over the next two weeks for discussions on biodiversity protection, conservation financing and implementation of global environmental commitments. Organizers have emphasized that the success of COP17 will depend not on announcing new promises, but on delivering concrete action to fulfill existing commitments.
Speaking on Friday, Adil Najam, Global President of WWF International, said the world already had the necessary vision for protecting nature.
“The world does not need a new vision. We have one. What we need now is to implement it,” he said. As negotiations begin, countries face growing pressure to translate their biodiversity commitments into measurable results before the 2030 deadline, with financing, accountability and the reform of harmful subsidies likely to remain central to the discussions.
