YEREVAN, Armenia / AfricaWire.IO / – At the Leaders’ Summit in Yerevan, Armenia, on Friday, October 16, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called for immediate and decisive international measures to stop environmental degradation and the loss of biodiversity. This appeal was made ahead of COP17, the 17th United Nations Biodiversity Conference, scheduled from October 19 to 30. He emphasized that over one million species are now at risk of extinction.
Guterres urged nations to boost funding for initiatives that safeguard ecosystems, and he emphasized the importance of increased engagement from the private sector and local communities in conservation activities. The Secretary-General pointed out that climate change, overgrazing, and the excessive application of fertilisers and pesticides are fueling a triple planetary crisis, combining pollution, biodiversity decline, and climate change. He warned that this crisis is pushing the planet toward becoming increasingly uninhabitable.
Describing Yerevan as a pivotal moment of accountability on the road to 2030, Guterres noted that in 2022, countries adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, aiming to conserve 30% of the world’s land and sea by the decade’s end. Nearly 90% of parties have established national biodiversity targets, with more than half creating national road maps. Despite these efforts, he pointed out that progress remains inconsistent and too slow.
Gap between ecological harm and financial protection widens
The Secretary-General highlighted a stark imbalance in global expenditure, noting that for every dollar invested in protecting nature, $30 is allocated to activities that damage it. He revealed that in 2023, $7.3 trillion was directed toward industries detrimental to nature, including heavy industry, destructive agribusiness, and fossil fuels. Guterres called on governments to eliminate harmful subsidies and pointed to the UN-supported Cali Fund as a mechanism for corporations benefiting from nature to contribute financially.
Achieving global biodiversity, climate, and land restoration targets will require significantly increased investments. To meet these goals, annual spending on nature-based solutions must reach $571 billion by 2030, roughly 0.5% of the global gross domestic product. Currently, biodiversity financing is less than half of the $200 billion annually agreed upon within the global framework. Guterres also pointed out that debt burdens and limited budgets hinder developing countries from investing sufficiently in nature conservation.
Current protection commitments fall short of targets
The existing national commitments do not meet the 30% protection goal. Even if nations fulfill their promises, only 26% of terrestrial ecosystems and 12% of marine ecosystems would be safeguarded by 2030. Since 2022, an additional 1.3 million square kilometres of land and 6 million square kilometres of ocean have been formally protected. Guterres urged nations to fulfill the 30 by 30 target and to shift from policies that harm nature toward those that sustain it.
He also called for broader participation from youth, civil society, women, Indigenous Peoples, and local communities. Guterres emphasized that environmental decline often impacts the most vulnerable populations the hardest. He welcomed the Yerevan Declaration’s commitment to integrating biodiversity into national policies, budgets, and regulations. As delegations prepare for COP17, where progress toward the 2030 goals will be evaluated, Guterres stressed that urgent action is needed and there is no time to delay.