Decision COP 16/34

The Conference of the Parties,

Recalling Article 20 of the Convention on Biological Diversity as the basis for providing and mobilizing resources from all sources and the relevance of Articles 11 and 21 in this regard,

Recalling also the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, including its section C, Goal D and Target 19, as well as Goal C and Targets 13 to 16, 18 and 20, and emphasizing the importance of biodiversity mainstreaming for strengthening resource mobilization and the effective and efficient use of resources to support the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity,

Alarmed by the continued loss of biodiversity and the threat that such loss poses to nature and human well-being, and emphasizing the importance of urgently increasing the mobilization of financial resources from all sources, domestic and international, and public and private, with a view to closing the biodiversity financing gap and making adequate and predictable resources available in a timely manner for the effective implementation of the Framework,

Recognizing an increase in development finance for biodiversity, while also acknowledging that a significant gap remains for achieving Target 19 (a) of the Framework,

Recalling its decision 15/7 of 19 December 2022 and the adoption of a strategy for resource mobilization for the period 2023–2024,

Welcoming the establishment of the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund by the Global Environment Facility and the contributions made to date to the Fund, while acknowledging the urgent need to scale them up to contribute towards reaching Target 19 (a) of the Framework,

Considering its decision 16/2 of 1 November 2024, by which it operationalized the Cali Fund for the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits from the Use of Digital Sequence Information on Genetic Resources to serve as the global fund for digital sequence information on genetic resources, in line with decision 15/9 of 19 December 2022,

Noting the ongoing efforts to accelerate the reform of the international financial architecture, and stressing the importance of ensuring that the reform contributes to closing the biodiversity finance gap,

Stressing the importance of evidence-based dialogues and the need to assess lessons learned and experiences from existing financing mechanisms to inform policy decisions related to biodiversity finance,

Noting the benefits of optimizing the co-benefits and synergies of finance targeting the biodiversity and climate crisis, while recognizing the need to enhance the transparency, reporting and accountability thereof in line with the mandates of the respective multilateral environmental agreements,

Acknowledging the benefits of timely deliberations in the design of effective, comprehensive and long-lasting solutions to close the biodiversity finance gap,

Recognizing that the complexity and fragmentation of the biodiversity financing landscape requires a comprehensive approach to enhance the complementarity, effectiveness and predictable scaling-up of finance from all sources,

Recognizing also that, despite the important role that they play in the implementation of the Convention and its Protocols and in the achievement of the Framework, indigenous peoples and local communities, women and youth often lack adequate access to biodiversity finance,

Reiterating that the provision and mobilization of resources from all sources for the implementation of the Convention and its Protocols, as well as the achievement of the goals and targets of the Framework, should follow a human rights-based and gender-responsive approach,

Recalling paragraphs 40 to 43 of and annex II to decision 15/7, noting with appreciation the work of the Advisory Committee on Resource Mobilization, and noting that the voluntary actions identified in annex II to recommendation 4/3 of 29 May 2024 of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation and the concluding remarks contained in the exploration of the biodiversity finance landscape3 could improve the biodiversity finance landscape,

Expressing its appreciation to the Governments of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and of Colombia for hosting the second and third meetings, respectively, of the Advisory Committee, as well as to the European Union and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for the financial support provided,

1. Urges Parties to continue and enhance their efforts to substantially and progressively increase the level of financial resources from all sources, in an effective, timely and easily accessible manner, including domestic and international, and public and private resources, in accordance with Article 20 of the Convention on Biological Diversity, in order to reach Target 19 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework to mobilize at least 200 billion United States dollars per year by 2030;

2. Urges developed country Parties, and Parties that voluntarily assume the obligations of developed country Parties to continue and enhance their efforts to increase total biodiversity-related international financial resources, including official development assistance, to developing country Parties, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States, and Parties with economies in transition, to reach Target 19 (a) of the Framework by mobilizing at least 20 billion dollars per year by 2025 and at least 30 billion dollars per year by 2030;

3. Urges Parties to continue and enhance their efforts towards achieving Target 18 of the Framework by eliminating, phasing out or reforming incentives, including subsidies, harmful for biodiversity, in a proportionate, just, fair, effective and equitable way, while substantially and progressively reducing them by at least 500 billion dollars per year by 2030, starting with the most harmful incentives, and scaling up positive incentives for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity;

4. Adopts the strategy for resource mobilization for the period 2025–2030, as contained in annex I to the present decision;

5. Encourages all Parties, other Governments, organizations, multilateral development banks, the private sector and other stakeholders to use the strategy for resource mobilization as flexible guidance for mobilizing new and additional resources from all sources and aligning financial flows to implement the Convention and its Protocols and to achieve the goals and targets of the Framework, commensurate with their ambition;

6. Emphasizes that the strategy for resource mobilization is to be implemented consistent with the considerations for implementation provided in section C of the Framework, taking into account national circumstances and priorities, while clarifying that the purpose of the strategy is to encourage action without affecting existing obligations and mandates;

7. Recalls its decision to keep the implementation of the strategy for resource mobilization under review at each of its meetings, starting at the seventeenth meeting, through the global stocktake, establishing an iterative process to facilitate any further adaptation of the strategy and associated institutional arrangements to allow for the timely mobilization of resources in support of the implementation of the Framework by 2030;

8. Invites Parties, as well as indigenous peoples and local communities, subnational governments, cities and other local authorities, intergovernmental organizations, other multilateral environmental agreements, non-governmental organizations, women and youth representatives, research organizations, the business and finance community and representatives of sectors related to or dependent on biodiversity, to provide relevant information, including on good practices, innovations, challenges and lessons learned, in line with decision 15/6 of 19 December 2022, in order to support the aforementioned review;

9. Urges Parties, the private sector, financial institutions and multilateral development banks to put in place and enforce social and environmental safeguards and apply a human rights-based approach in developing or scaling up biodiversity and finance instruments, in particular for innovative schemes, in line with the voluntary guidelines for safeguards in biodiversity financing mechanisms contained in annex III to decision XII/3 of 17 October 2014 and with decision 14/15 of 29 November 2018;

10. Encourages Parties to develop, update and implement national biodiversity finance plans or similar instruments, on the basis of their national biodiversity strategies and action plans and of an assessment of biodiversity expenditure and finance needs, to support the adequate and timely mobilization of domestic and international, and public and private financial resources for the effective implementation of the Framework;

11. Encourages developed country Parties to reflect in their national finance plans or similar instruments their financial contribution to the implementation of the Convention in developing country Parties;

12. Encourages developing country Parties, as appropriate, to provide in their national biodiversity finance plans information on financial and technology development and transfer and on the capacity-building support needed, received and used to implement their national biodiversity strategies and action plans;

13. Encourages all Parties, and invites other Governments, to take the strategy for resource mobilization into consideration when developing, updating or implementing national biodiversity strategies and action plans and national targets, as well national biodiversity finance plans or similar instruments;

14. Recognizes the ongoing work by all actors to strengthen, simplify, reform and leverage synergies among existing instruments for biodiversity finance, with a view to closing the biodiversity finance gap;

15. Acknowledges that strategies for resource mobilization have also been adopted under the other Rio conventions and other global biodiversity‑related conventions and multilateral agreements, and encourages increased cooperation and synergies in their implementation, convinced of the need to enhance significantly transparency in accounting and reporting of financial contributions as part of the efforts to optimize co-benefits and synergies, in line with the mandates of the respective multilateral environmental agreements;

16. Calls upon developed country Parties and Parties that voluntarily assume the obligations of developed country Parties, and invites other Governments and non-sovereign contributors, such as the private sector and philanthropic organizations, to make or increase their contributions to the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund;

17. Calls upon Parties and other relevant actors to improve access to and increase financial resources for indigenous peoples and local communities, women and youth for the implementation of the Framework;

18. Notes that no Party responded to the notifications issued by the Executive Secretary further to the request in subparagraph 47 (b) of decision 15/7, in accordance with Article 20, and in that regard requests the Executive Secretary to consider the best periodicity for the issuance of the new round of notifications, for consideration by the Subsidiary Body on Implementation at its sixth meeting;

19. Decides to implement Articles 21 and 39 of the Convention and to address the global biodiversity finance gap by 2030, by:

20. Recognizes that, in addition to and in support of the strategy for resource mobilization, the actions outlined below can further contribute to addressing the global biodiversity finance gap:

21. Also recognizes that the operation of the financial mechanism envisaged under Article 21 of the Convention can be entrusted to one or more entities, be they new, reformed or existing, which would form an institutional structure fulfilling at least the following criteria:

22. Decides to establish an intersessional process to deliver the mandate set out in subparagraph 19 (a) on the basis of the following initial road map:

23. Also decides to establish an intersessional process to deliver the mandate set out in subparagraph 19 (b) above, with concrete deliverables at each stage to ensure timely implementation, on the basis of the following initial road map:

24. Requests that, before the seventeenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, the Subsidiary Body on Implementation consider the elements referred to in subparagraphs 22 (a) and 23 (a) above, further discuss opportunities for broadening the contributor base and develop a draft decision, and that it report on progress at the seventeenth meeting;

25. Requests the Executive Secretary to support the work of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation, as set out in paragraph 24 above, and in particular to:

26. Also requests the Executive Secretary, subject to the availability of resources: