Decision COP 16/22

The Conference of the Parties,

Recalling decisions VII/15 of 20 February 2004, IX/16 A to D of 30 May 2008, X/33 of 29 October 2010, XI/19, XI/20 and XI/21 of 19 October 2012, XII/20 of 17 October 2014, XIII/4 of 13 December 2016, 14/5 of 29 November 2018 and 15/24 and 15/30 of 19 December 2022 of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity and, in particular, the critical threat to biodiversity posed by climate change and the role of biodiversity in adaptation, mitigation and disaster risk reduction, while stressing the importance of considering climate change beyond Targets 8 and 11 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework when implementing the Framework,

Recognizing that biodiversity loss, climate change, ocean acidification, desertification, land degradation, invasive alien species and pollution, among others, are interdependent and need to be addressed urgently and in a coherent and balanced manner to achieve the objectives of the Convention and the goals and targets of the Framework,

Acknowledging the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment,

Recalling General Assembly resolution 78/155 of 19 December 2023, in which Parties to the Convention were urged to ensure the coherence and complementarity of the Framework with other existing or upcoming international processes, in particular with regard to the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement and other related processes, frameworks and strategies,

Taking note of the Joint Statement on Climate, Nature and People issued on the margins of the twenty-eighth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which promoted accelerated and integrated action for climate, nature and sustainable development,

Recalling United Nations Environment Assembly resolution 6/4 of 1 March 2024, entitled “Promoting synergies, cooperation or collaboration for national implementation of multilateral environmental agreements and other relevant environmental instruments”,

Stressing that achieving the objectives of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the goals of the Paris Agreement is highly critical to avoid further biodiversity loss and land and ocean degradation and to achieve the 2050 vision of living in harmony with nature, and will require transformative change,

Stressing also that the achievement of the Framework is highly related to urgent and effective action on climate change in line with the objective of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the goals of the Paris Agreement, and vice versa, and recognizing that keeping the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement within reach reduces the risks and impacts on biodiversity, and that they would be much lower at the temperature increase of 1.5 ºC compared with 2 ºC,

Recalling decision 15/13 of 19 December 2022, in which the Conference of the Parties took note of United Nations Environment Assembly resolution 5/5 of 2 March 2022 on nature-based solutions for supporting sustainable development, in which the Environment Assembly recognized that nature-based solutions might contribute significantly to climate action, while recognizing the need for analysis of their effects, including in the long term, and acknowledging that they do not replace the need for rapid, deep and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, but could improve action for adaptation and resilience to and the mitigation of climate change and its impacts,

Emphasizing that biodiversity and ecosystem integrity play an important role in combating climate change and its impacts and that conserving and restoring biodiversity and ecosystems, inclusive of animal populations, are effective options for mitigation, adaptation and disaster risk reduction and constitute actions towards minimizing the impacts of climate change, in particular when the knowledge, governance and stewardship practices of indigenous peoples and local communities are integrated,

Deeply concerned that the rapidly increasing impacts of climate change, which exacerbates biodiversity loss and weakens the delivery of crucial ecosystem functions and services, amplify existing threats to species and can push vulnerable populations beyond their survival limits, increasing the risk of extinction of such species,

Recognizing the essential functional role of biodiversity in underpinning the integrity of ecosystems and ecosystem services, and that protecting and restoring ecological integrity contribute to addressing both climate change and biodiversity loss,

Emphasizing that maintaining ecological corridors and promoting landscape connectivity are crucial for enabling species to either migrate to suitable climatic locations or adapt to new conditions, which is particularly urgent in the context of climate change and its impact on habitats,

Deeply concerned that the increasing anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide leading to increased carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere are causing ocean acidification and elevated temperatures, including marine heatwaves and deoxygenation, with severe consequences for marine life, in particular coral reefs and other sensitive marine ecosystems, species and life histories,

Recognizing the crucial role and capacity of the ocean in regulating the climate, and noting the Ocean and Climate Change Dialogues 2023 and 2024 under the United Nations Framework Convention, in which reference is made to the need for strengthened institutional linkages across various mandates and processes, such as the Framework, to enhance global ambition and action for a climate-resilient ocean,

Recognizing also that biodiversity and ecosystem resilience to climate change are decreased by actions that may lead to increased risk of adverse climate-related outcomes, which can in turn have adverse impacts on biodiversity, ecosystem resilience, people in vulnerable situations and those most dependent on biodiversity, including indigenous peoples and local communities, and undermine climate action,

Emphasizing the need for enhanced international cooperation and synergies between Parties, indigenous peoples and local communities, relevant existing organizations, partnerships, initiatives and coalitions, including through capacity-building and development, technical and scientific transfer, cooperation, and access to and the transfer of technologies, on mutually agreed terms, to strengthen national capabilities to anticipate and monitor the impacts of climate change on biodiversity, ecosystems and biodiversity-dependent communities,

Recalling decision 15/8 of 19 December 2022, in which the Conference of the Parties recognized that many Parties, in particular developing country Parties, might not yet have the capacities necessary to fully implement the Framework, and highlighting the need for enhanced cooperation to address those capacity gaps,

1. Welcomes the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and takes note of its findings;

2. Also welcomes decision 10/1 of 2 September 2023 of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Plenary, in which the Plenary decided to foster further collaboration between the Platform and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change;

3. Urges Parties, when undertaking actions towards the achievement of Targets 8 and 11, as well as related targets, of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, in line with national circumstances, priorities and capabilities and with their respective obligations under relevant multilateral environmental agreements to implement effective social and environmental safeguards:

4. Encourages Parties to use the tools and information available under the Convention on Biological Diversity, including the Voluntary Guidelines for the Design and Effective Implementation of Ecosystem-based Approaches to Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction, or their updated versions, as decided by the Conference of the Parties, as well as relevant tools and guidance developed under other biodiversity-related conventions;

5. Encourages Parties, other Governments at all levels and relevant organizations, with the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples and local communities, women and youth, to take into account the existing and projected impacts of climate change and climate-related policies on biodiversity when implementing the Framework;

6. Reaffirms decision IX/16 C on ocean fertilization, paragraph 8 (w) of decision X/33 on biodiversity and climate change and decisions XI/20 and XIII/14 of 9 December 2016 on climate-related geoengineering, and urges Parties, and encourages other Governments, to ensure their implementation;

7. Urges Parties, and invites other Governments and relevant stakeholders, when undertaking actions towards the achievement of Targets 8 and 11, as well as related targets, of the Framework, in line with national circumstances, priorities and capabilities, to act in accordance with Article 20 of Convention and consistent with Target 19 of the Framework, and in line with decision 16/34 of 27 February 2025 on resource mobilization, with a view to strengthening the tracking of various sources of finance to enhance understanding and transparency;

8. Encourages Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations to assess, manage and avoid or minimize the potential adverse impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem integrity that could arise from the economic and sectoral transitions undertaken as a response to climate change;

9. Takes note of the intergovernmental consultations on nature-based solutions undertaken by the United Nations Environment Programme in compliance with United Nations Environment Assembly resolution 5/5;

10. Welcomes decision 1/CMA.5 of 13 December 2023 of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement, in particular its paragraphs 33, 34, 55, 63 (d) and 163;

11. Stresses the importance of national focal points for the Convention on Biological Diversity engaging with their counterparts for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and biodiversity-relevant conventions and of enhancing collaboration among Parties to those conventions to raise awareness of relevant interlinkages between biodiversity and climate change so as to support relevant national planning processes, in line with national commitments, circumstances and priorities, as appropriate;

12. Invites the respective bodies of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Parties to consider using the Voluntary Guidelines for the Design and Effective Implementation of Ecosystem-based Approaches to Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction for Parties to integrate biodiversity and social safeguards in mitigation and adaptation measures; 

13. Calls upon the President of the sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention to engage the Presidents of the twenty-ninth and thirtieth sessions of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention, respectively, on opportunities for strengthened multilateral coordination on climate change and biodiversity loss;

14. Requests the Executive Secretary, including when supporting activities undertaken under the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, to promote synergies and closer cooperation with the biodiversity-relevant multilateral environmental agreements, organizations and processes, and integrated approaches to addressing biodiversity loss, climate change and land and ocean degradation;

15. Also requests the Executive Secretary, subject to the availability of resources, avoiding the duplication of efforts and enhancing synergies, as appropriate, guided by the long-term strategic framework for capacity-building and development, to facilitate collaboration among parties, indigenous peoples and local communities, relevant existing organizations, partnerships, initiatives and coalitions to implement capacity-building, especially for developing countries, in particular for least developed countries and small island developing States, and to increase awareness and understanding of the interlinkages between biodiversity and climate change, including the impacts of climate change and climate action on biodiversity, and the role of biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services in climate change mitigation and adaptation;

16. Further requests the Executive Secretary, in collaboration with the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, as the coordinator of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, and the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea of the United Nations Secretariat, to explore opportunities for addressing the ocean-climate-biodiversity nexus in an integrated manner in order to achieve the goals of the Framework;

17. Requests the Executive Secretary, subject to the availability of resources and avoiding the duplication of efforts, to develop a supplement to the Voluntary Guidelines for the Design and Effective Implementation of Ecosystem-based Approaches to Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction providing voluntary guidance and tools based on good practices for the design, effective implementation and scaling up, as appropriate, of nature-based solutions and/or ecosystem-based approaches to climate change mitigation and adaptation to support the implementation of Targets 8 and 11, as well as other related targets, of the Framework, where appropriate, consistent with United Nations Environment Assembly resolution 5/5, noting Mother Earth-centric actions, as recognized by some countries, in line with different national circumstances, priorities and capabilities, including updating guidance for fit-for-purpose social and environmental safeguards, based on existing safeguards, for consideration by the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice before the seventeenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties;

18. Also requests the Executive Secretary, subject to the availability of resources and avoiding the duplication of efforts, to develop guidelines and tools for carrying out conservation and restoration in a changing climate;

19. Further requests the Executive Secretary to invite Parties, observers and other stakeholders, to submit by May 2025 their views on options for enhanced policy coherence, including a potential joint work programme of the Rio conventions, to be compiled by the Executive Secretary for the attention of the Joint Liaison Group of the Rio Conventions, to submit its compilation for consideration the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice at a meeting held before the seventeenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, and to invite the executive secretaries of the other Rio conventions to collaborate on the organization of a technical information exchange in 2025 to further explore options to enhance cooperation and policy coherence to support the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement;

20. Invites, in line with paragraph 9 of decision XI/20, Parties, other Governments, observers and relevant organizations to provide information on measures undertaken at the national or other level, as appropriate, in relation to paragraph 8 (w) of decision X/33 or decision IX/16 C, and requests the Executive Secretary to compile the information submitted and to make it available through the clearing-house mechanism.