COP15: Historic Global Agreement for Nature and People

At the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Montreal, Canada, the EU joined 195 countries in adopting the historic Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. This framework includes global goals and targets aimed at protecting and restoring nature for current and future generations, ensuring its sustainable use, and boosting investments for a green global economy. Together with the Paris Agreement on climate, it paves the way for a climate-neutral, nature-positive, and resilient world by 2050.
The agreement is a solid framework containing clear, measurable goals and targets, with comprehensive monitoring, reporting, and review arrangements to track progress, complemented by a strong package of resource mobilization measures.
More than half of the global GDP depends on ecosystem services. 70% of the world’s most vulnerable people directly depend on wild species. The Kunming-Montreal agreement will accelerate ambitious policies worldwide and mobilize biodiversity funding from all sources — 200 billion USD annually by 2030. It commits the global community to take actions to protect and restore nature and eliminate pollution — such as those that are part of the European Green Deal. This will ensure that nature continues to support societies, economies, and communities for decades to come.
The agreement will significantly increase the mobilization of biodiversity funding from all sources, domestic, international —public and private— mobilizing at least 200 billion USD annually by 2030. It will create incentives for domestic and international sources, including business investments.
It also addresses subsidies that are harmful to biodiversity, with a commitment to identify by 2025 and eliminate by 2030 subsidies totaling at least 500 billion USD annually.
As part of the agreement, the EU endorsed a package of international solidarity measures, especially for the most vulnerable countries and those with the greatest biodiversity. The new Global Biodiversity Framework Fund established under the Global Environment Facility will be open to funding from all sources.
In a significant effort to improve business action on biodiversity, large and transnational companies and financial institutions will need to regularly monitor, assess, and disclose their risks, dependencies, and impacts on biodiversity; and provide information to consumers to promote sustainable consumption.
European unity and leadership were crucial throughout the four-year negotiations. In Montreal, the EU negotiating team, led by Commissioner Sinkevičius, together with EU Member States, coordinated by the Czech Presidency of the Council, managed to create space and push ambitions while making progress in the financial sector. The agreement provides a significant boost to the multilateral approach, at a time when global solidarity and cooperation are more necessary than ever.
The European Green Deal puts Europe at the forefront of this global economic transformation. Its proposals, such as the recently approved law on zero-deforestation supply chains and further work on eliminating pollution, will contribute to achieving the Kunming-Montreal agreement.
During COP 15 in Montreal, the EU formed alliances and initiatives to help implement the Global Biodiversity Framework in practice. Together with some member states and several other countries, the EU joined forces to significantly increase biodiversity funding from all sources. The EU also joined key initiatives to help partner countries strengthen their capacities and knowledge to implement the Global Biodiversity Framework. These include the high-ambition Accelerator partnership to support the future implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework and the Global Biodiversity Knowledge Support Service to help countries monitor progress towards achieving biodiversity goals. The EU also signed an agreement with Guyana for sustainable trade in legal timber.